Today's Fast-Moving World Requires Both KPI-Driven and Purpose-Driven Innovation Strategies  

Jay Chandran, MBA
Assistant Director, Knowledge Transfer & Commercialisation, Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Singapore Management University




Global investment in research and development is higher than ever, but global productivity is trending in the opposite direction. This signifies a need for new innovation strategies to find a balance between incremental innovation driven by key performance indicators (KPIs) and purpose driven innovation, which inspired the groundbreaking innovators of the industrial revolution.

The McKinsey article “Building an R&D Strategy for Modern Times” states that global Research & Development (R&D) spend reached new heights in trillions, and half of this stems from governments and academic institutions. The report underscores the need for new approaches to achieve better outcomes, as often R&D leaders come under pressure from the accelerated innovation cycle to quickly show results and also need to overcome lack of customer centricity (purpose).

However, a 2021 International Monetary Fund (IMF) report titled “World Economic Outlook: Recovery During a Pandemic” presents alarming findings: Despite significant R&D investments, particularly in private and applied research, productivity growth in advanced economies has been slowly declining for a few decades. This empirical evidence challenges the belief that innovation investment automatically enhances productivity, potentially impacting the competitive advantage of economies in conducting business.

A notable positive highlight from the IMF report is the demonstration of how decades of purpose-driven, basic vaccine research contributed to Moderna's ability to rapidly develop a COVID-specific vaccine when it was urgently needed. This underscores the crucial role of investing in basic research for the long-term economic benefit, as well as its potential for global spillover effects through incremental but impactful innovation and discoveries.

We live in an era inundated with keywords like AI, Big Data, Deep Tech and Machine Learning deeply embedded in all realms of technological development and solutions. Algorithms rely on these keywords to ensure relevance and conditioning us to adopt the same mindset.

The indiscriminate, unrestricted use of deep-tech strategy for all purposes has been a concern of mine for some time. Since the end of World War II in 1945, we have not witnessed many groundbreaking innovations or discoveries akin to penicillin, the steam engine or the light bulb. Instead, what we've observed are primarily incremental advancements on the achievements of the industrial revolution.

It is worth considering what motivated the innovators of the 1800s and earlier, who, despite the lack of modern conveniences and instant access to information; achieved monumental discoveries that have enduring importance. This will lead us to consider the impact of a purpose-driven approach to innovation versus the approach prevalent in the current era, which is driven by KPIs.

One argument could be that the restricted access to information in the 1800s might have limited the number of innovations and discoveries to a select few. In contrast, today's abundance of information explains the prevalent use of technological jargon and the incremental nature of modern innovations. Furthermore, with the potential use of AI-enabled tools, incremental innovation is poised to accelerate even further.

While this argument has validity, I maintain a strong belief in the significance of a purpose-driven approach to innovation and discovery. For instance, the development of batteries in the 1800s was fueled by the purpose of energy storage, a concept that continues to drive our efforts to enhance storage capabilities today. Similarly, the discovery of silicon in 1854 for the purpose of steelmaking, laid the groundwork for the production of sophisticated microchips in contemporary times, emphasising the enduring impact of purpose-driven initiatives on technological advancements.

Similarly, although DNA is commonly thought to be with a 20th-century discovery, its early exploration traces back to the study of heredity. Siddhartha Mukherjee’s book, The Gene, notes that during Mendel and Darwin’s time in the 1800s, a palpable sense of passion and a race to find solutions fueled scientific endeavors, institutional support was available irrespective of the guaranteed success of scientific outcomes, and there were no KPIs or economic strings attached to one's work.

As we enter 2024, as a technology transfer professional, I believe it is prudent to consider striking a balance between purpose-driven and KPI-driven approaches to innovation. However, it would be overly optimistic to assume that a single solution could solve all R&D challenges. Like incremental innovation, incremental changes to the management of R&D projects are necessary to enhance the impact and groundbreaking nature of deep-tech R&D.

My suggestions, organised into separate categories for purpose-driven and incremental solutions, are tailored for adoption in academic research environments to maximize discoveries and inventions in an era of incremental innovation.

Strategic Framework for Evaluating purpose-driven Deep Tech Solutions

Apply elevated standards for evaluating deep-tech technologies. Utilizing the matrix below (or similar) with Likert-scale scoring could provide a more quantifiable and empirical assessment than traditional methods. The “What to Assess” column can be further customized for specific requirements.

Attributes	What to Assess
Purpose	What is the big picture and overarching vision within the chosen field?  Why is the identified problem crucial, and what motivates the researcher(s) to address it?  Evaluate the proposed solution's novelty and uniqueness.
Foundation	Assess the depth of the scientific foundation upon which the proposed research and solution are constructed.
Technical complexity	Recognize the inherent high technical complexity associated with deep-tech endeavors. Evaluate the interdisciplinary use of sciences. Differentiate genuine complexity from unnecessary obscurity.
Use of technologies	Acknowledge the prevalent use of advanced and futuristic technologies in deep-tech research.
Collaboration	Evaluate the collaborative efforts, including teamwork and consortium involvement, particularly with external researchers beyond institutional boundaries.
Quality of intellectual property	Assess the potential disruptiveness and patentability of the technology and design, emphasising high quality.
Development cycle and capital requirement	Recognize the typically high development cycle and capital requirements associated with deep-tech projects.
Porter’s 5 force analysis	Evaluate the magnitude of entry barriers, as higher barriers can indicate greater time and economic potential.
Investment interest	Consider the validation of interest from investment communities as a significant parameter.

 

Incremental Assessment Framework

If the discovery or invention is incremental in nature, I would recommend using the SCAMPER framework, which I first learned about in Kyoto University’s EDX course on “Chemistry of Life,” to assess and plan the necessary research in addition to the framework discussed above. SCAMPER is known for its creativity-inducing capabilities, offering researchers a powerful tool for approaching and addressing research problems in innovative ways.

Substitute	What can be substituted? People, components, materials, processes, etc.
Combine	What can be combined? Functions, elements, features, processes, etc.
Adapt	What can be adapted from elsewhere? Other industries, ideas, processes, products, etc.
Modify	What can be modified? Magnification, miniaturization, changes related to attributes, functions, features, etc.
Put to another use	What are alternative uses? Access new markets, applications related to other products, services and solutions, etc
Eliminate	What is the impact of removing a process, function, component, etc?
Reverse/Rearrange	What is the impact if a process/function/component is reversed, rearranged, approached from the inside out, etc.?

Working toward solving a problem with clear purpose will likely be needed to produce great results in deep-tech, irrespective of whatever planning tools, funding and strategies we use. At the same time, an incremental innovation outlook that includes commercial and intellectual property goals and related impacts also is very important.

A portfolio approach to R&D strategy, which incorporates both purpose-driven and incremental innovations, makes sense to generate short-term returns and meet requirements of various stakeholders without losing sight of longer-term goals with greater potential upside. Technology transfer professionals can play a key role in facilitating and implementing this approach.

Third Wave of Tech Transfer's Evolution Reminds Us It's a Contact Sport
  

Leah Speser, JD, PhD, RTTP, NPDP
Board Chair, Foresight Science & Techology
Senior Consultant for Knowledge Transfer and Commercialization, Research and Innovation Foundation of the Republic of Cyprus
AUTM Emeritus Member

The evolution of global technology transfer has been characterized by “waves” of increasing involvement in the commercialization process—first the licensing wave, followed by the spin-outs wave. We are in the early stages of a third “teams” wave, which reminds us that tech transfer is still a contact sport and that people-to-people interactions are critical for successful licenses, further maturation of immature technology, adoption and use.
 
The third wave focuses on teams trained in both R&D and in new product development (NPD) that—assisted by technology transfer offices—move from research organizations into enterprises together with the technology they have been working on. This is an important evolutionary step for tech transfer, which is too often an afterthought in the research process of most research organizations and in the NPD programs of most companies. It is encouraged by programs like the National Science Foundation (NSF) Accelerating Research Translation program in the US and the Knowledge Valorisation Principles and Guidelines in the European Union.
 
Successful “experiments” around the world have laid the groundwork for this wave. In Thailand, smaller firms often contract with university labs for applied R&D and preliminary product development—creating, in effect, sponsored theses and an opportunity to assess potential hires.
 
Here at the Research and Innovation Foundation of Cyprus (RIF) we have programs like PhD in Industry, which funds a researcher and their dissertation research so long as the researcher is employed by an enterprise while (s)he is registered at a PhD Programme in a Cypriot university. The Programme requires effective collaboration between enterprise and academic personnel to ensure smooth transition of the PhD candidate and their research into the practical NPD work of creating a commercial product or service. Well-known second wave programs, like MIT’s or NUS Singapore’s sandboxes, become third wave programs by pitching companies rather than venture capital firms.
 
Moving teams along with technology requires rethinking the role of technology transfer offices. As was required for supporting second wave entrepreneurial programs like NSF’s I-Corps or RIF’s Innovation Factory Bootcamp and its progeny, the third wave encourages technology transfer offices to develop knowledge and skills related to new product development  in order to better support third wave programs. This might involve, for example, having an NPD professional in residence or the Association of Technology Transfer Professionals (ATTP) addin NPD-focused courses and conferences to its lists of approved events. 
 
The third wave also encourages TTOs to do impact assessments that will facilitate outreach earlier in the research process. In particular, this will help TTOs gain access to potential downstream beneficiaries in basically untapped markets: non-research-intensive small and mid-sized companies that make up the bulk of our economy but lack sufficient absorptive capacity to participate in research and innovation ecosystems on their own. Moving a trained R&D/NPD team along with the technology addresses that limitation while creating new employment opportunities for graduating students and post-docs.  
 
Please note the views are solely my own. Affiliations are for identification purposes only.

In Saudi Arabia, University Tech Transfer Helps Drive Economic Diversification  

Ismaila Aliyu, PhD
Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Executive
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Materials

 

University technology transfer in Saudi Arabia is a relatively new field but is evolving rapidly thanks to the government’s recent focus on economic diversification and knowledge transfer. King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) was among the first universities in Saudi Arabia to introduce technology transfer in 2008. In alignment with national priorities, the university’s Innovation and Technology Transfer Office supports applied research with high commercial potential, entrepreneurship and strong collaborations with industry.

Economic diversification is one of the main pillars of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. To diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy beyond oil, the government has initiated several national programs and policies to promote a knowledge-based economy supported by intellectual property (IP) protection and research-driven innovation.

As part of the transition to a knowledge economy, a new standalone patent office was founded. The Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) has overseen patenting reforms, such as the creation of the National Network of Technology and Innovation Support Centers (TISC) with the support of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). As a national excellence center for intellectual property knowledge and technology transfer, KFUPM contributes to the success of the TISC through knowledge sharing.

The transition also has led to new national organizations focused on science and technology policy and funding, particularly focused on areas such as renewable energy, health & wellbeing, sustainability and economies of the future. The new Research Development and Innovation Authority (RDIA) recently announced the Saudi Applied Research and Technology (SART) funding initiative, which provides applied research grants of up to $5 million USD for breakthrough technology transfer-oriented research. One of the initiative’s goals is for annual research and development spending to reach 2.5% of the Kingdom’s GDP by 2040.

To support entrepreneurship, the Saudi government established the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority in 2016. In line with Vision 2030, an SME Bank linked with the National Development Fund was established in 2021 to provide financing for SMEs.

KFUPM strives to align its research efforts with national research priorities, which in turn supports the economic diversification goals of the Kingdom. KFUPM is continuously focusing on applied research with high commercial potential. In addition, the university’s research infrastructure has been reconfigured to prioritize interdisciplinary and challenge-based research, following the 2020 appointment of a new university President, Dr. Muhammad M. Al-Saggaf.

The Innovation and Technology Transfer Office plays a strategic role at KFUPM by supporting university researchers with patent analysis and market research. Its Proof of Concept program motivates and funds those researchers to advance the commercialization potential of their competitive inventions. KFUPM’s Entrepreneurship Institute offers training, funding and incubator services to help students, faculty and researchers create startups that impact society through job creation and revenue generation, and the Technology Advancement and Prototyping Center (TAPC) provides prototyping and scaling support.

KFUPM’s Industry and Research Partnerships Office (IRP) facilitates collaboration with companies on research, technology development and commercialization. KFUPM is now engaging in in-kind collaborative research with industry to help them develop their in-progress technology, which represents a paradigm shift from traditional models of research collaboration with industry.

KFUPM is now strategically positioned within the global innovation landscape. The university currently has more than 2000 issued patents, and in 2022 was third in the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) ranking of top universities for US utility patents granted.

As a result, KFUPM has gained international recognition as a hub for innovation and is attracting research partnerships with renowned institutions worldwide and startups with IP-oriented business strategies. These achievements are helping Saudia Arabia realize its vision of economic diversification and knowledge transfer.

The New European Unified Patent System: What We've Learned So Far  

Mariella Massaro, JD, CLP
Partner, Berggren

 

Michael Nielsen, MSci
Partner and Patent Attorney (EPO and UK), Berggren

 

The long-awaited European Unified Patent Court (UPC) opened its doors on June 1, 2023. The introduction of the new UPC, along with the European Unitary Patent, represents the biggest change to the European patent system since the establishment of the European patent convention itself more than 50 years ago.

The new system enables pan-European enforcement and revocation of European patents in a single action for the first time, rather than court decisions being made at the national level, and has important effects on patent prosecution and enforcement as well as licensing and collaborative agreements. Currently 17 European countries, including Germany and France, are participating in the new system, which covers more than 75% of the EU economy.

Already within the first few months of this new system, we have seen significant activity involving universities. Of the 41 infringement and revocation actions publicly visible as of August 31, 2023, four involve universities, as both claimants and defendants. Despite the relatively litigation-averse nature of universities and other research institutions, roughly 10% of pending UPC cases directly involve universities[1].
 
While no final decisions in infringement or revocation actions have been reached yet, several orders for preliminary and protective measures have been issued by the UPC. These measures, granted in preliminary proceedings, include the issuance of orders for inspections (at fairs) and preliminary injunctions without the court even hearing from the defendants. Overall, we have seen a pro-patentee slant to these initial UPC orders. It’s still early days, but if this trend continues, it demonstrates significant value for patentees and licensees, which will impact the value of future and existing licenses of European patents.

 

In Singapore, East-West Insitutional Collaboration Inspires Duke-NUS Innovation  

David Wang, MD, MBA
Director, Centre of Technology and Development
Duke-NUS Medical School
 

As someone with technology transfer (TT) experience in both the US and in Singapore, I have a keen appreciation of what different TT cultures can bring to a collaboration. My current position with an academic institution that is, itself, made possible by an international collaboration has taken that appreciation to a new level.

Over the last decade, Singapore has risen to prominence as a leading global innovation hub and a gateway to the booming entrepreneurial market in Asia. The nation ranked in the top 20 of Startup Genome’s 2020 Global Ecosystem ranking and second in the 2019 World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report. Singapore’s robust innovation ecosystem is well-supported by its outstanding funding environment, deep technical talent pool, active innovation communities and pro-innovation federal policies. Notably impressive are the nation’s strong patent/copyright protection and license practices, which are completely aligned with those in the US. Singapore is ranked second in the world and the first in Asia on the International Property Rights Index 2021.

As a technology transfer professional who has extensively worked in this domain in both Singapore and the US, I believe all these factors have been instrumental in drawing more and more top US venture funds and biotech companies to Singapore. This enthusiasm is shared by Amy Schulman, Managing Partner of Polaris Partners, a US-based venture capital firm. “Singapore is small but mighty…We have found a wealth of academic science that is hungry to be translated onto a large platform, and a willingness on the part of government and increasingly private money to jumpstart the translation,” she commented during a recent episode of the BioCentury Show (https://lnkd.in/ghcNnW4p). 

Key to the development of this blooming ecosystem are the country’s world-class academic institutions. In particular, Duke-NUS Medical School's commitment to translating its pioneering research into proprietary new healdhcare products has immensely benefited Singapore and beyond. Established through a 2005 collaboration between the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Duke University, based in Durham, North Carolina, Duke-NUS has since pursued its mission of ”Transforming medicine; improving lives” by bringing together the world’s best in education, research and innovation.

Continuous collaboration between Duke University in Durham and Duke-NUS in Singapore through the exchange of faculty, researchers, students and knowledge has advanced translational and clinical research at both institutions. Duke's top-notch academic and research programs have helped shepherd cutting-edge research discoveries into real-world solutions to society's most critical medical challenges—including heart diseases, retinal diseases, COVID-19 and inflammatory diseases.

The intellectual property and translation pipelines are managed by the Centre for Technology and Development (CTeD) within the School's Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. CTeD leads the bench-to-bedside journey of innovations through patent prosecution, validation of commercial worthiness of early-stage technologies, product development, pursuit of commercialization pathways and launching of startup companies.

The Centre's efforts have significantly expanded the School's technology commercialization portfolio and intellectual property transactions with companies not only in Singapore but also in Europe and the US.  The School recently committed $20 million SGD (about $14.8 million USD) in incubation funding to be deployed to CTeD over the next 10 years (2023-2032), which will further bolster its capabilities and global reputation in developing innovative healthcare products. 

When We Talk about Innovation and Gender, Geography Matters

Marli Elizabeth Ritter dos Santos, PhD, RTTP
Independent Consultant in Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Management​ in Brazil

Women inventors are often discussed as a homogeneous group, and a recent report on global trends in gender and innovation indicates that inventors are far more likely to be men than women all over the world. But the report’s findings also suggest that it is more difficult to be a woman inventor in some regions of the world than in others.

The report “The Global Gender Gap in Innovation and Creativity,” published in March by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), found that only 23% of all patent applications are held by women, who represent just 13% of all inventors listed. It also found that women are more prevalent in academia (21%) than in the private sector (14%), and that the gender gap for inventors differs between countries. The Latin American and Caribbean region has the highest percentage of women inventors, with 21%, followed by Asia (17%), North America (15%), Europe (14%) and Africa and Oceania (13%).

The report analyzed the possible reasons for the consistently low levels of representation for women inventors. One hypothesis is that “women may be less attracted to math-intensive fields which produce most invention.” The role of women in society throughout history may also play a role; until the 50s and 60s, women's professional careers were restricted to teaching children in primary and secondary schools—a profession that was seen as a natural extension of the societal role that women played, as mothers, in the education of their children. The mistaken view that this was the only role for women in the professional world historically has limited their opportunities to contribute in other areas of knowledge.

In some developing countries, these societal factors are compounded by a shortage of professional opportunities—even for men—in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields that are most likely to promote invention. This results, to a large extent, from deficiencies in basic and secondary education in these countries.

Seemingly paradoxical regional differences in percentages of women inventors suggest a combination of societal and educational factors may be involved. For instance, Latin America (LA) has an average of 0.7% of PCT patent filings, very low compared to Europe and North America and Asia (more than 30% each one), but LA is also the region with the highest percentage of filings made by women. In that region, participation by women in patenting has increased over time – from 16% of inventors in 2001-2005 to 21% in 2016-2020. This might be because some developing countries are now seeing a confluence between increasing STEM opportunities overall and increasing societal acceptance of women in those professions.

Another reason for the growth in women’s inventorship in Latin America is that the academic sector contributes relatively more to the region’s patenting than in other regions. In Brazil, where I work, two of the three largest patent applicants in 2021 were universities–The University of Campinas (Unicamp) at number one and the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB) at number three, with the Brazilian Oil Company in between. This finding reveals an idiosyncrasy of the Brazilian intellectual property system, as universities are applying for more patents than companies. Since the participation of women in patenting is more prevalent in academia than in the private sector, as the WIPO report found, this may help explain why the growth rate of female participation in the patent system is higher in countries like Brazil.

A clear gap still exists between female and male participation in the development of science, technology and innovation, and the report estimates that achieving gender parity should not be expected until 2061. But that estimate itself is encouraging, as previous analyses had predicted gender parity targets of 2074 or 2079.
The report confirms that global views of women's work have been changing over time—a positive trend that was initiated years ago by women from different countries and areas of expertise who broke with the stereotypes of the past rather than submit to them. Women like Elizabeth Blackwell, the first medical doctor in the US; Marie Curie, the only person in the world to have won two Nobel Prizes in different scientific fields; and Enedina Alves Marques, the first black female engineer in Brazil, have been changing the world and inspiring women across the planet. 

Expanding International Inclusivity Starts with Listening and Learning 

Building a global tech transfer community is about sharing knowledge across national borders, letting fresh perspectives add depth to conversations and finding solidarity in facing universal challenges. During a listening session at the 2023 AUTM Annual Meeting in February, international attendees and AUTM leadership explored these attributes of a globally inclusive innovation ecosystem and how they might be achieved.

The goal of the listening session was for members of AUTM’s Board of Directors and the International Strategy Committee to hear from the organization’s most engaged international Members about ways to better serve the technology transfer community outside the US.

“As we work to increase global inclusivity, it’s not enough to simply say that all are welcome to be part of the AUTM community. It also has to be about asking our international Members what we can do that will make them feel more included,” said David Gulley, Founding Director of the Technology Transfer Office of the Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust and chair of AUTM’s International Strategy Committee.

AUTM is taking a three-pronged approach to better serving its international contingent. Its three-year Strategic Plan includes a goal focused on growing an inclusive ecosystem. Its broader international strategy calls for a global approach characterized by three A-B-C pillars: Accelerating tech transfer by working with like-minded organizations, Broadening AUTM content by incorporating non-US perspectives and Convening tech transfer associations from around the world. And it prioritizes specific initiatives for non-US Members, including participation in international tech transfer events, hosting customized AUTM courses in certain markets upon request, and offering a discounted digital membership category for individuals who live or work in developing countries. 

The invited attendees said tech transfer professionals outside the US view AUTM as a valuable resource—citing toolkits and other online information, educational programming, discussion groups and in-person networking events—and as a leader in advocating for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.

Opportunities to better serve non-US Members include making resources more relatable, with greater international representation on panels and written content that is less US-centric, they said. Discussions of universal issues like research funding, tech transfer advocacy, DEIA and promotion of tech transfer successes would also appeal to the global tech transfer community.

Suggestions to improve global engagement included:

• Partnering with like-minded organizations in AUTM’s nine international regions to maintain the positive momentum of Annual Meeting interactions throughout the year
• Hosting global brainstorming sessions in other countries to help advance local tech transfer offices
• Developing one or more AUTM eGroups for non-US Members for exchanging information
• Adding industry outreach and advocacy support for non-US countries to the ABCs of AUTM’s international strategy
• Convening more listening sessions to solicit feedback from non-US members and provide support

 

AUTM  Partnerships Help Shape the Global Tech Transfer Ecosystem 

Recently AUTM has been honored to partner with various global knowledge and technology transfer organizations to provide educational opportunities and conduct high level strategic conversations. 

In mid-October, AUTM joined Reseau C.U.R.I.E, ASTP and PraxisAuril for the first ever Knowledge Transfer International Symposium (KTIS). The 24-hour virtual event was an opportunity for those working in the innovation ecosystem to share best practices, do foresight work on tech transfer’s next challenges, and prepare for the future. 

More than 700 professionals, from around the world, gathered online for the first of its kind event, which also featured two panels—Incentives in Technology Transfer: How to Encourage, Recognize and Reward Faculty Researchers and Support Staff, and Tech Transfer in Action: Working in the Network. Audience members were encouraged to engage with panelists via online conversation and questions. 

“As an international technology transfer association, AUTM was pleased to work with our colleagues from around the world on a broad, informative, and timely Symposium to further enhance technology transfer across the globe.” said Steve Susalka, AUTM CEO. 

Following the success of KTIS, AUTM co-hosted with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) an International Knowledge and Technology Transfer Leadership Summit, which welcomed tech transfer leaders from 29 countries and territories to Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss topics including global perspectives on knowledge and technology transfer, diversity and inclusion across the innovation ecosystem and models of government funding. 

“AUTM was very thankful to the 36 senior thought leaders that represented dozens of countries for participating in a very high-level discussion on the technology transfer profession,” Susalka added. 

The Summit created opportunities for inclusive global technology transfer collaborations with focuses on international policy and solution implementation. Additionally, the role of academic institutions was discussed in the context of immediate actions that can be taken to drive diversity of innovation through new business models, specialized focuses on inclusion, and the creation of successful role models for others to follow.    

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Italy’s Tech Transfer in Transition: 
The Change in Scenarios and the Impact of the PNRR

Gloria Padmaperuma
Technology Transfer and Business Development Consultant at Associazione Netval

The tech transfer community in Italy is active and passionate as always to pioneer changes that would benefit the tech transfer and knowledge transfer landscape. In May, the Italian government launched the Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza (PNRR); Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan.
 
The PNNR is aimed at repairing the economic and social damage caused by the pandemic. The Plan revolves around three strategic axes shared at a European level. With the ‘Education and Research’ sector being allocated €31.9 billion to be invested in activities, to name a few, to strengthen the education system, open opportunities in digitisation and innovation, expedite technology and knowledge transfer, and address social inclusion and cohesion.
 
Netval (Network for Research Valorisation) is a recognized association, whose mission is to bring value and showcase the world of public research, via the creation of a community of tech transfer office professionals.
 
Recently, tech transfer leaders met at the Netval Summer School, this year celebrating 15 years of success, to discuss additional opportunities to valorise the PNRR within the tech transfer sector. This includes coaching early-career researchers in entrepreneurship and providing them the skills necessary to evaluate their research scientifically and commercially.
 
Leaders, including professionals from Universities, Scientific Institutes for Hospitalization and Care (IRCCS) and Public Research Organizations, contend there is a pressing need to establish better conversations at an operational level; starting from individuals working together from different sectors, to university and industry professional holding diverging TT/KT lingo, to communicating research results to the public. The PNRR can be a great resource for the development of tech transfer tools and resources, by emphasizing the importance of an evolving community of professionals in a field that increasingly values research.
 
Also discussed at the summer School was the concept of digitizing innovation to improve university-industry collaboration. The Knowledge Share Platform already showcases more than 1,300 patented opportunities looking for commercialization opportunities. The next step is to explore pushing the growth of the Knowledge Share Platform toward international markets.

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What in the World is Going On?

By David Gulley
Chair, International Strategy Committee

As Chair of AUTM’s International Strategy Committee I have the good fortune to have a network of colleagues, friends, and influencers from our profession around the globe. As we return (mostly) from our virtual worlds to in-person and hybrid events I believe our profession is becoming more aligned in many ways but still reflecting the unique aspects of our ecosystems. These are a few examples from my “global perspective”.
 
AUTM’s International Strategy Committee (ISC) has evolved in the last few years to be more inclusive and globally engaged to encompass AUTM’s goals of outreach to non-US KE/KT/TT professionals. We have focused on activities that bring us together to share experiences, support events and knowledge-sharing, and identify ways we can support emerging KE/KT/TT regions. Our current efforts include:
 

• Knowledge Transfer International Symposium “KTIS” (https://www.knowledge-transfer-is.com), October 12, 2022, a 24-hour digital event for professionals from the junior to senior levels and focused upon sharing best practices, upcoming challenges, and the future of our professional community.  KTIS is hosted by Reseau C.U.R.I.E., the French association, and partners that include ASTP, AUTM, and PraxisAuril. Our AUTM ISC calls this our “World Cup” event and we are working with other regions around the globe to host future “World Cup” events.
• AUTM’s Leadership Summit, a limited attendance event, will be held following KTIS, but in-person at WIPO’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Our past Summits have been held in Barcelona, Spain (2018), and in Bangkok, Thailand (2019). Leadership Summits are “invitation-only” and draw upon leadership from the global KE/KT/TT associations to focus upon challenges and opportunities facing our profession.
• We help identify and implement alliances that address specific needs in emerging KE/KT/TT regions. Our engagements include Mexico, Thailand, and this year in Egypt under a program of the National Academy of Sciences. These alliances are multi-year and multi-focused to include professional development that aligns with RTTP criteria, metrics, advocacy, and unique needs of the particular region. Most of you are familiar with the Alliance for Technology Transfer Professionals (https://attp.global), an alliance of 15 KE/KT/TT professional associations. There are common criteria to achieve the RTTP status, yet we recognize the unique aspects of RTTP applicant experience from their regional ecosystems. Our international panel of reviewers bring their own unique knowledge of regional ecosystem policies and practices to this review process. 

Finally, a hearty thank you to the volunteers who serve as AUTM ISC’s members for 2022-2024, including:

1.  ASEAN: Chalermpol (Charles) Tuchinda, NSTDA (Thailand)
2. Africa: Andrew Bailey, SARIMA (South Africa); Diana A. Owusu Antwi, WARIMA (Ghana)
3. Canada: Steve De Brabandere, Canada Committee (Canada)
4. East Asia: Alwin Wong, ISTA (China)
5. Europe: Laura McDonald, ASTP (Europe)
6. Latin America and the Caribbean:  Shirley Coutinho and Bety Ritter, Fortec (Brazil); David Gulley, AUTM (Puerto Rico, the Caribbean)
7. Oceania: Tim Boyle, KCA (Australia)
8. South Asia: K. (Vijay) Vijay Araghavan, Society for Technology Management (India)
9. West Asia/MENA: Fazilet Vardar, USIMP (Türkiye)

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Ireland Technology Transfer Produces Impressive Results

Alison Campbell
Director, Knowledge Transfer Ireland
Past Chair, AUTM
 
When it comes to technology transfer, Ireland is a small country that packs a big punch. Relatively young in its evolution, its technology transfer has produced impressive results. In the past 18 months, 45 spin-out companies were created, more than 10 acquisitions and over 5,000 new R&D agreements signed. Put into perspective, we currently have 16 higher universities and institutes of technology with a combined research expenditure of around €550 million p.a. ($625 million).

Thinking about challenges and opportunities, it’s useful to put technology transfer in context. I've been privileged to have several technology transfer professionals visit from outside of the country and what they often remark upon is how well-coordinated and supported the innovation system is here. First, we have a national innovation strategy which brings a sharp focus to the importance of research and innovation to the country – it’s about economic development. That frames what comes next.

There has been long-standing investment in programmes that support research commercialization. That can be anything from proving co-funding to help companies collaborate with universities or awarding proof of concept funding to develop early-stage technology opportunities with the objective of them becoming spinout companies. There's a bunch of wrap-around supports to nurture those early-stage company concepts such as access to mentors, management, and seed investment. Innovation from research is a fundamental pillar of higher education.

Technology transfer offices (TTOs) are pivotal to success here, so what lies ahead in 2022? Our higher education system is changing. We have eight universities and are in the process of creating five new technological universities (TUs). These are mergers of existing institutes of technology that should be completed this year. They have a specific regional identity and have traditionally been very responsive to local business, set to continue with increased critical mass and the development and scaling of TTOs in the new TUs.

The TT system is valued and there is a structured national programme of funding to support the TTOs financially. At its heart, it's designed to provide sustainability, to encourage consistency and drive towards national goals. The next funding round is open and TTOs will be bid for funding for the next four years.

Practical challenges in TT in Ireland are not necessarily any different from what many are facing globally. While we’ve done well at being able to maintain industry collaboration through the past two years of the pandemic there are concerns that this isn’t sustainable. A combination of company priorities and a fear that researchers themselves have less time available to engage in collaborative projects as they look to get research and teaching back on track.

There are quite restrictive measures place to manage COVID and this is still having some impact, particularly on full-time access to labs.
On the upside, it’s exciting times for new spin-outs. Last year the higher education- dedicated seed fund University Bridge Fund II was launched. It was developed in partnership by two of our largest universities, Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin with the investment firm Atlantic Bridge. The fund has raised €80million and the partners have been joined by University College Cork. The fund complements existing programs and brings expertise and learnings to accelerate pace and quality in spin-out creation.

Of course, it’s people that make tech transfer happen. A core challenge remains finding the right talent at the right time, whether it be to lead new companies, programmes or TTOs themselves. Being a small island can sometimes make that challenging. But it’s a vibrant innovation community, full of very smart and connected people. Which means the challenge doesn’t last for too long.
 

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Reflecting and Looking Ahead

By David L. Gulley, PhD, RTTP, CLP
AUTM International Strategy Committee, Chair
 
During the past year you’ve heard from international colleagues in Africa, Asia, Canada, Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean (scroll down to read each column). Our committee’s Regional Chairs serve as conduits of knowledge and insight into their regions, their associations, and the issues that arise in knowledge and technology transfer (KT/TT). If you’ve followed the Global Perspectives column this year, you know “it’s a small world (after all.)” Let me offer a few perspectives from my island (Puerto Rico) in the Caribbean.
 
In each Global Perspectives column our Regional Chairs provided insight into the unique landscapes of KT/TT in their regions. Importantly, each also presents forward-looking efforts which we will monitor closely in 2022 for opportunities in which AUTM can strategically expand the KT/TT community globally to include broad and diverse perspectives.
 
Africa’s KT/TT is concentrated in a few countries under the Research and Innovation Management Association (RIMA) model. Our Regional Co-chairs Andrew Bailey (South Africa) and Diana Owusu Antwi (Ghana) are leaders in their field. SARIMA, South Africa’s RIMA, is the leader and serves as a model for emerging and nascent economies engaged through CARIMA (Central Africa), EARIMA (East Africa), and WARIMA (West Africa). The need for national government and university leadership is at the core of efforts to establish/enhance policies and practices. Ghana, for example, launched a program in 2017 that has made a tremendous impact on entrepreneurship and innovation. South Africa’s consistency in measuring performance metrics continue to deepen understanding and provide guidance for future efforts.
 
Alwin Wong, Asia Regional Chair, hails from Hong Kong and has maintained productive contacts throughout much of the vast region during the pandemic. Using his extensive professional network, he led an effort to distinguish the various sub-regions and offered concrete plans to engage professional associations, both existing and emerging, to become involved with our committee and AUTM. We will add additional regional chairs to our committee and implement that plan at the 2022 AUTM Annual Meeting. This approach will bring new opportunities for AUTM to engage and support the growing KT/TT efforts across Asia.
 
We welcomed Steve De Brabandere, new Chair of AUTM’s Canada Committee, which designates him to serve as our committee’s Regional Chair from there. As with most associations, Canada’s Regional Meeting was virtual and brought together its tight-knit group of professionals. In 2022 our Canadian colleagues plan to focus on adapting and reconnecting post-COVID and working with multiple governmental bodies to deploy strategies to increase private sector’s participation in and use of intellectual property. It will be interesting to see how those new strategies will integrate with the on-going efforts of the academic community to educate, mentor, and promote start-ups.
 
Laura MacDonald, Executive Director of ASTP, serves as Europe’s Regional Chair, and always keeps the pulse of the many national associations served by ASTP. Across the KT/TT communities digital forums, virtual matchmaking, and virtual educational programming were integrated into association efforts. This year the European Commission continued to review EU regulations and their effect on KT/TT while member state ministries provided opinions in key fields of R&D collaborations, updating valorization strategies, and promote a code of practice for the use of IP. This last effort will occur throughout 2022 and will provide the global KT/TT community with examples of a common valorization strategy based upon best practices.
 
Latin America and the Caribbean’s Regional Co-chairs are Elizabeth (Bety) Ritter and Shirley Coutinho, both from Brazil and leaders in FORTEC, the National Association of Managers of Innovation and Technology. FORTEC and AUTM have a long-standing record of collaboration and cooperation. Within the region there are several active KT/TT associations, including RedGT (Chile) and RedOTT (Mexico). This year ALTEC, the Latin American Association of Technological Management, delivered a forum to engage and explore the opportunity to form a pan-national effort to assist in supporting and coordinating efforts across the region, with similarities to how the RIMAs operate in Africa and ASTP operates throughout Europe. We will watch the progress of this pan-national approach closely as it could provide an effective approach as an interface with AUTM and growing our profession globally.
 

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Showcasing SARIMA and South Africa’s National IP and Tech Transfer Survey Results
By Andrew Bailey and Diana Owusu Antwi
Regional Co-Chairs, Africa
AUTM International Strategy Committee

South Africa conducted its second national IP and tech transfer survey covering the period 2014-2018, showing overall encouraging trends in a range of indicators pertaining to IP creation, technology transfer activities and the resultant economic impact.

There are three ‘groupings’ of tech transfer offices in the country:

• those at universities that are more mature (10-20 years old);
• a group that only started operations following the promulgation of an Act in 2010 that required all universities to have a TTO or belong to a regional one;
• and those associated with Science Councils.

As of 2018, the number of tech transfer offices grew to 34 from just nine in 2008, when Parliament assented to the IP Rights from the Publicly Financed R&D Act.

Looking at gender and inclusivity, female staff represent two-thirds of the tech transfer office. It will be interesting in future surveys to determine the demographics of inventors. The most reported skills gaps in the offices lay in business development skills, in terms of negotiating and deal structuring as well as attracting commercial partners. Importantly, there was a 24% increase in actionable invention disclosures over the survey period.

Many of the metrics are defined in the same manner as AUTM does to facilitate benchmarking, and attempts were made to gather data for the number of invention disclosures received per year per $10 million R&D expenditure from several countries: USA, Canada, Australia, Ireland and the UK.

In the analysis South Africa was comparatively lower than these counterparts and closest to Australia. Notably, two tech transfer offices had higher rates more aligned with the counterparts, both of whom had established tech transfer offices prior to 2010, indicating that it may require time for offices to mature to achieve the specific disclosure rates; it would be interesting to analyse the metrics of the “more mature” and “new” offices separately to provide more granular insight. The availability of these types of metrics in regions in which tech transfer offices are developing is useful for benchmarking purposes and SARIMA would welcome information about any datasets that may be available.

Comparatively, most tech transfer offices in West Africa are in the nascent stages and have limited number of staff (with limited skills set) who handle a broad array of processes, from engaging and facilitating collaborations between academia and industry, to IP scouting, technology marketing, negotiation of research contracts, etc. It is worth noting that universities and research institutions which hitherto did not have tech transfer offices are making efforts to establish and operationalise them, while those with existing tech transfer offices are taking steps to strengthen them.

This notwithstanding, state funding for R&D remains relatively low or non-existent [most R&D funding is provided by donors and development partners and some universities provide a (relatively) small amount of funding for R&D], while access to early-stage and commercialisation funding and limited skills set of tech transfer office staff remain a challenge to the technology commercialisation process.

This calls for the need for national governments and universities to institute strategic policy measures and interventions to promote academic industry collaborations, funding support, and build the specialised skills of a tech transfer offices. A good example comes from Ghana’s National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme was launched in 2017 and focuses largely on providing business development services, start-ups, incubators, and funding to promote the growth of young businesses. So far, more than 9,000 businesses have been funded, 45,000 entrepreneurs trained, and 90,000 jobs created.

Meanwhile, the Southern African Research & Innovation Management Association (SARIMA) held its second virtual conference last week, attracting 400 attendees from 28 different countries.

ASTP President Cecile Cavalade presented the opening keynote, emphasizing the benefits of “IP Booster” grants in Europe.  €20k could be spent by universities on IP audits, landscape analysis, evaluation and due diligence as well as IP application. Technology adoption has been accelerated by COVID, but she stressed there is a need to develop “soft skills” like these to achieve successful innovation and aid adoption of new technologies by the public.

Developing “entrepreneurial” universities in South Africa was also discussed. Engagement with Vice Chancellors at the Universities South Africa (USAf) forum is driving review of policies and strategic plans within universities to better support entrepreneurship. Dr. Norah Clarke, Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) highlighted the wealth of entrepreneurial potential in the undergraduate student body; whereas most South African universities tend to focus on postgraduate students / research outputs. Also, that one should look in the non-traditional spaces, i.e. beyond high-tech science and engineering.

The conference was preceded by a Technology Marketing Workshop, which aligns with the growing traction of the Department of Science & Innovation’s Innovation Bridge portal, where technologies are advertised.

The West Africa RIMA (WARIMA) is scheduled to have its annual conference, “Optimizing Research & Innovation in Emerging Economies,” in Dakar, Senegal, Nov. 21-26.
 

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FORTEC Takes on Amazonian Sustainability
Elizabeth Ritter
Regional Co-Chair, Latin America and the Caribbean
AUTM International Strategy Committee

In September, FORTEC, the National Association of Managers of Innovation and Technology Transfer in Brazil, hosted virtually its 15^th annual meeting. AUTM was among those supporting organizations honored, highlighting its work with the Portuguese Manual of Good Practices in Technology Transfer.

Concerns about sustainably using Amazonian assets was a major theme throughout the event as speakers discussed technological and economic perspectives of the bioeconomy, and how to develop and apply technology transfer models in products derived from resources of the Amazonian biodiversity.
 
Pitch sessions were held for technologies developed in the region, with companies seeking to capture potential investors in the areas of biotechnology, health, food and cosmetics.
 
The structure for fostering the national Science, Technology and Innovation system and institutional innovation policies and governmental technological orders were also tabled. Conflicts of interest in innovation management and the evolution of tech transfer office models occupied were popular topics among attendees.

This year, the Annual Meeting was held in conjunction with the “Arranjo NIT Amazônia Ocidental” (the Amazonian network meeting), which brings together tech transfer office managers from the Western Amazon. Its theme was Repositioning Innovation Strategies and Technological Autonomy and featured panels and roundtables with national and international speakers.

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September 8, 2021
European Knowledge Transfer Activities
Laura MacDonald, Regional Chair, Europe
AUTM International Strategy Committee

Digital Platforms Expand Reach
While many European associations once again held virtual Annual Meetings in 2021, this often increased the number of participants and/or enabled people from a wider global community to share them. For example, the number of participants at ASTP’s Meeting doubled, with whole offices able to sign in. PraxisAuril (UK)’s innovative digital conference focused in detail on key knowledge exchange (KE) themes, including diversity in the sector, sustainable innovation, and business resilience; it took stock of the great work that has happened, allowing time to regroup and realign with what is really important in the KE world.
 
The digital world has encouraged many new initiatives across knowledge transfer (KT) communities. Highlights include:

• ASTP hosted its first-ever EU Forum digitally, with European Commission and European Investment Council delivering news of the latest initiatives directly to KT practitioners.
• Italy‘s Netval ’s Technology Share event  academic research and industrial partners discussed innovation challenges and KT, as well as matchmaking showcases of technologies.
• An exciting new web portal FokusTransfer launched this spring as a joint initiative to strengthen and further develop KT in Germany. Various networks, institutions, and companies joined forces under the coordination of TransferAllianz e. V. to make their diverse knowledge and experiences accessible to the entire transfer community.

 
Patlib Centres Boost Support of KT
The European Patent Office (EPO) ‘s Project Patlib 2.0 aims to increase visibility of their network of centres supporting KT activities, with a broad spectrum of services from patent searching to active commercialisation support managed at national levels, with support from the EPO. New links directly with the KT national associations, especially through the NAAC of ASTP are being set up to encourage useful developments. This is a model of collaboration with national patent offices.
 
European Commission Consultations
The European Commission is actively reviewing many aspects of current EU regulations affecting KT across Europe. ASTP and the national member state ministries are involved and were invited over the summer to submit opinions and views on the following key policy areas:
 
Research & Development Block Exemption Regulation: An ASTP expert group is reviewing the findings and recommendations of the European Commission, who wish to understand the nature of the agreements typically entered into by R&D collaborators with a particular interest in ensuring the new regulations do not create a competition law (anti-trust) regime that would impede the ability or willingness of companies and research centres from entering collaborative arrangements aimed at creating novel innovations and solving R&D challenges.
 
Knowledge Valorisation Recommendations: In 2008, the European Commission issued the “Recommendation on the management of intellectual property in knowledge transfer activities.” The R&I landscape has changed considerably since, in terms of actors and complexity of the R&I ecosystem as well as in terms of global challenges. This requires policymakers to set new objectives and provide updated guidance on knowledge valorisation.
 
In 2020, the European Commission published the Policy Review "Knowledge Valorisation Channels and Tools" as a first milestone in the definition of a European knowledge valorisation strategy. It describes the different means to:

• Improve how we transform research results into new sustainable solutions
• Identify and analyze the main channels for the uptake of research and innovation results
• Get better at spreading excellent national practices
• Highlight best practices from Europe and beyond.

Guiding Principles for knowledge valorisation:  The Communication on “A New Era for research and innovation” calls to update and develop these principles, along with a Code of Practice for the smart use of intellectual property (IP). This action is expected by the end of 2022 and will support a common valorisation strategy for research and innovation based on existing good practices. The consultation process is considered important feedback for the co-creation of the upcoming Guiding Principles for knowledge valorisation and Code of Practice for smart use of IP.
 

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August 11, 2021
Tech Transfer Updates from Asia
By Dr. Alwin Wong, RTTP
Regional Chair, Asia
AUTM International Strategy Committee
 
Despite limited physical cross-border interactions, tech transfer organizations across Asia carry on local and national activities with various adaptation, inviting virtual international participation. Here are just some of the highlights from key upcoming events in selected countries connected to AUTM’s international outreach activities over the years. I encourage any tech transfer professional to register where there are virtual opportunities available:
 
Japan
The virtual annual conference of University Network for Innovation and Technology Transfer in September is organized under five areas of interest indicated by its 500 members. The association will also provide basic training for students interested in the profession. The annual event provides a vibrant venue for industry and professionals to appreciate the opportunities and practice about industry-academia collaboration and technology transfer.
 
This provides an excellent venue for collaboration and connection as practitioners face grand challenges brought about by the pandemic, climate change, carbon neutrality and more. Proactive triple helix policies and programs to address these issues in the complex innovation circle are indispensable as we move into the future.
 
Singapore
The 10^th year of the signature technology-to-industry matching event, TechInnovation, organized by Innovation Partner for Impact (IPI) will be virtual this September. Under the theme “A Sustainable & Resilient Future,” it will focus on: Green & Sustainable Future; Sustainable Food & Nutrition, and Health & Wellness. This Singaporean event with an ASEAN emphasis brings together international technology providers and enterprises to accelerate the commercialization of emerging technologies, seed licensing opportunities, and foster open innovation collaborations. Organized according to industrial tracks, TechInnovation supports crowdsourcing and crowd-pitching with matching supports to allow both technology providers, users and corporate developers to readily make use of open innovation vehicles to seek collaboration over a wide spectrum of engagement opportunities.
 
Turkey
University-Industry Cooperation Centres Platform of Turkey (USIMP) is the overarching tech transfer organization with more than 100 institutional members advocating the practice and contribution of university-industry technology transfer to the economy and society at large.  Nationally and internationally, USIMP continues to plan valuable events, including:

• USIMP Patent Fair and University-Industry Cooperation Congress: This annual event will be held virtually in November. It connects universities, technology parks, industries and startups to introduce patented technologies of good commercialization potential.
• Professional support to least developed countries: In partnership with Ankara–UN Technology Bank and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey, USIMP will help Gambia co-design a technology transfer office model with accompanying policy recommendations tailored to that country’s local tech development and application needs.

Furthermore, Turkey has contributed to European Patent Office a case study about the creation of Dermis Pharma, founded by four women inventors from a Turkish university.
 
USIMP has also developed two tools to increase awareness of special needs and capacity building for knowledge exchange and tech transfer organisations. The novel methodology involves face-to-face interviews and assessments of functional TTOs, augmented with participant mentoring to create unique capacity-building roadmaps. USIMP also runs regular training courses to certify RTTPs, ranking fifth in the number of successful application of RTTPs by ATTP.
 
Thailand
In recent years, both the public and academic sector of Thailand have increasingly exerted coordinated effort to promote a more conducive set of policies for IP administration and technology transfer. The Thai version of Bayh-Dole is currently being reviewed for formal enactment.  In anticipation, public agencies like Thailand Science Research and Innovation, National Science Technology and Development Agency, and the Office of National Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Policy Council, together with a selected group of innovative universities, have been working together to promote good TTO practice of IP administration and tech transfer as integral components of the innovation ecosystem, with corresponding capacity-building initiatives such as offering AUTM’s All-Access Webinar Pass to the tech transfer community, eventually aimed at professional accreditation of the practitioners. This would provide current IP personnel a clearer career path and attract graduates to technology transfer. Thai agencies will join hands to organize the first-ever Knowledge Exchange and Network Building for University IP Management Offices in November. The Minister of the Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation will deliver a keynote to signify the importance of this concerted effort.
 
Thailand aims to further cultivate the IP and tech transfer culture among universities and research institutes nationwide, with vocational and professional accreditation pathways to systematically train the practitioners of the coming generation. The latter will be conducted in collaboration with major professional bodies and international agencies such as AUTM, LESI and WIPO.
 
China
China remains a committed advocate in leveraging research commercialization and tech transfer for economic growth and social development. During the pandemic, there has been no shortage of accelerated applications in smart cities, e-commerce, biotech and the digital economy. Only a select few of the country’s international programs are listed below, most of which were organized with the involvement of the Beijing-based International Technology Transfer Network with partnering foreign economies. In April, a small group of APEC representatives participated in an online forum called the Innovation City Forum in which an APEC Innovation City Study Report was published. Various cities will be hosting mid-scale hybrid events with thematic participation of up to 500 people from China and abroad to share their insights on topics of common interest:

• Zhongguancun International Technology Trade Fair/Zhongguancun Forum 2021 hosted in Beijing in September. The hybrid event aims to attract universities, enterprises, industrial organizations, and technology transfer entities for exchange on technology advancement in cutting-edge fields. The platform event would include satellite components like “International Technology Transfer Cooperation and Matchmaking Session - Major Innovation Region in China,” as well as release of several ranking lists.
• 2021 China International Technology Trade Forum will be hosted as a special component of the “8^th China International Fair for Trade in Services” in September in Beijing, featuring tech transfer themes such as “2021 Global Best Practices for Technology Transfer,” with international keynotes addressing innovation and recovery.
• In November, Kunming will host the 2021 BRICS Technology Transfer Cooperation Conference as an ongoing effort to make use of the BRICS tech transfer center in China for technology exchange and transfer within the BRICS economies.
• Hong Kong will continue its annual AUTM training with support from the jurisdiction’s IP Department towards the end of 2021, virtually again this year. The training is the only live AUTM training event that does not require simultaneous interpretation in China, thus providing ample opportunity for context-specific interaction between the trainers and the participants.

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July 14, 2021
Updates from the Canadian Region
By Steve De Brabandere
Regional Chair, Canada
AUTM International Strategy Committee

New Chair of the Canadian Committee
At the 2021 Canada Region Meeting, the chair of the Canadian Committee was passed from Darren Fast (University of Manitoba) to me. I begin the two-year term while Darren moves to Past Chair, and Anouk Fortin (Ottawa Hospital Research Institute) becomes Chair-Elect.

I have been in technology transfer for 18 years and am Director of Technology Transfer and Industry Liaison at University of Guelph, a global leader in the fields of food, agriculture and veterinary medicine.

2021 Region Meeting
In May, 116 people joined the virtual 2021 Canadian Region Meeting. The Meeting brought together practitioners from across Canada for education and networking. Speakers from a variety of offices shared their expertise and experiences on a range of topics. The Fireside Chat featured Myra Tawfik, a law professor at University of Windsor and member of a government-led expert panel focused on increasing ownership and use of intellectual property within Canada. In a separate interview, Helge Seetzen, CEO of TandemLaunch, shared his experiences and insights creating more than 30 companies derived from university research.

AUTM Canadian Award
At the Region Meeting, the AUTM Canadian Award was presented to Mike Szarka, who for decades has been a leader in the Canadian technology transfer community in various senior roles at universities and research centers. He is currently Director of Research Partnerships at University of Waterloo. Mike is an active volunteer, including as past chair of the AUTM Canadian Committee. He is a regular fixture at the Canadian Region Meeting and the AUTM Annual Meeting. As a member of house band The Northern Infringers, Mike ensures that attendees enjoy some music with their professional development.

Keeping Things Close
Despite vast geography, the Canadian technology transfer community is a tight-knit group. This closeness has emerged from shared challenges and opportunities. It’s reinforced through regular monthly video meetings and a shared email listserv that enable colleagues to ask questions and exchange best practices. This is all thanks to the efforts of several committed volunteers.

The Year Ahead
The coming year will focus on growth and adaptation as the country emerges from COVID restrictions. Reconnecting in person with faculty members and co-workers will be an important priority for many. Multiple levels of government are developing national and regional intellectual property strategies focused on exploring ways to increase the ownership and use of intellectual property by Canadian companies. These efforts will certainly impact Member institutions, many of whom continue to increase education and mentorship activities to promote the creation of startups from the research enterprise. Finally, we look forward to meeting colleagues from across Canada and around the world in person at the 2022 Canadian Region Meeting planned for beautiful Montreal.


December 2, 2020
WIPO and the EIE Program for Southeast Asia
By Richard S. Cahoon, PhD, AUTM Emeritus Member
John A. Fraser, MA, CLP, RTTP, AUTM Past President
Ashley J Stevens, D.Phil. (Oxon), CLP, RTTP, AUTM Past President
 
In 2014, Dick Cahoon, the former Director of the Cornell University TTO responded to a challenge from the Director of WIPO’s Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, Andrew Ong: “Can IP play a role in economic development in developing countries, and if so, how?” This resulted in support for countries building IP-enabled innovation systems based on public sector research institutions (the US PSRI - Bayh-Dole model). The next logical step was how WIPO could assist universities and other PSRIs in Southeast Asia to develop the institutional and individual professional capability to capture, increase and accelerate their IP-based commercialization impact in their regions.

The answer was creation of the multi-year Enabling Innovation Environment (EIE) Project for IP and Technology Support.

Within the EIE project, WIPO works in synergy with key local partners to help develop capacities in areas of the innovation and technology transfer life cycle. This is accomplished with strong support of the Japan Patent Office and the government of Japan, who are the main sponsors of the project as part of their voluntary contribution to the WIPO-Japan Funds in Trust Industrial Property Global.

Through the project, countries have received help to accelerate the expansion of their own innovation ecosystem through the efforts of the TTOs of the participating universities and other Public Sector Research Institutions (PSRIs).

After discussions, and in-country visits to assess interest and determining which institutions were best placed to participate, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand became the first countries to enthusiastically join as beneficiary countries of the project, and Viet Nam more recently joined the project.  

WIPO works with different actors across each country, such as government, academia and industry, to develop institutional and human capacities, and operates with a core principle of bringing together and supporting the establishment of a community of technology generating institutions.

To help achieve this, a Hub & Spoke structure was formed in each country. “Hubs,” typically the national IP Office or a government innovation support agency within the country, provide administrative infrastructure and close connection with their PSRIs, while “Spokes” are technology creating PSRIs (mostly universities) but include some government research institutions. Spokes participate though their internal TTOs, and a condition of participation is the involvement of senior institutional leadership. Many of these Spokes are also active Technology Innovation Support Centers (TISCs), another WIPO project supporting developing countries in obtaining better access to innovation related information.

Since commencing in 2016, WIPO and its experts have conducted a series of stand-alone national workshops with the participating countries on topics including establishing university and institutional IP policies, licensing, TTO management and IP asset evaluation.
 
Instrumental in bringing the necessary expert-knowledge to these countries has been the team of experts assembled by Dick Cahoon and Yumiko Hamano, as project consultants to WIPO. Over the years, these seasoned multinational tech transfer professionals (the “Experts”) supporting the project have included Ashley Stevens (US), John Fraser (US), Mike Martin (US), Surya Raghu (US), Andy Sierakowski (AUS), Cheryl McCaffery (Singapore), Elizabeth Ritter (Brazil), and Cengiz Tarhan (UK).
 
Activities included:

• Annual workshops focused on practical issues faced by technology licensing and management officers within universities, including developing institutional IP policies, licensing and basic commercialization activities.
• Providing general skills needed in the technology and innovation environment, including a series of WIPO oriented workshops focused on patent drafting and patent searching.
• Meetings with senior technology transfer decision makers from project countries, including Vice Chancellors, Research VPs/DVCs and TTO heads. Topics included the importance of IP/tech transfer to the PSRI mission, commercialization via well-defined technology transfer and knowledge exchange procedures.
• In 2018 (fortuitously prior to the COVID shut down), activities shifted to virtual mentoring of TTO case officers by Experts in the four countries. 10 IP/technology case projects were submitted and assigned to the six mentors. A 60-minute remote/video call occurred monthly for six months and included the TTO staff, appropriate researchers and the mentor. Topics included commercialization strategies, TTO procedures and institutional policies. Cost effective and enormously enhanced by interaction tools necessitated by the pandemic, remote mentoring has now moved into its third round of projects.
• Following presentation of concepts at in-country workshops and identification of project leaders in 2019, Ashley and John began providing mentoring to existing (Malaysia) or newly formed (Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand) national TT associations. Each association is now engaged in the creation of an Annual TT Licensing Activity Survey (modeled on AUTM Annual Licensing Surveys). Each is also creating a communications plan to identify how best to use metrics to communicate the value and impact of TTO activities to a broad range of stakeholders. Each of the projects is being pursued with enthusiasm.
• Still in progress is development of a “Guidebook” of self-guided knowledge tracks in which tech transfer professionals and support staff, institutional and government leaders frame key tech transfer issues and resources. The Guidebook will complement in-country training courses and be available through each country’s professional associations.

One of our observations is on the nature of innovation in the project countries. While some of the invention disclosures we have seen target global markets, many focus on local industries and agricultural systems. As an example, in Sri Lanka, the recently established R&D lab of John Keells, an EIE Spoke member, has developed a way to generate graphene-based supercapacitors directly from graphite (Sri Lanka produces the highest quality graphite in the world). It seemed to us that the benefits of this local focus are: (a) government will be pleased to see its universities addressing local issues, needs and opportunities; (b) there should be a good likelihood of securing a local corporate partner; and (c) they are unlikely to face competition from bigger and better-known universities and corporations in developed countries.

Below is a selection of one project from each country to give readers a sense of the creativity we are seeing:

Sri Lanka: Handloom Designs
The University of Moratuwa (UoM) is a small, highly regarded university in Columbo, focused on engineering. A new initiative, UofM Enterprise serves as an umbrella organization for all commercialization activities (e.g., incubator, TTO, industry advisory network, etc.). The World Bank has financed creation and operation of 16 PSRI Sri Lankan-based TTOs, including UofM Enterprise. Mrs. Ushani Hewage, a 2017 UoM graduate disclosed an invention that reduced the labor of creating modern, multi-colored designs on cloth for handlooms. In Sri Lanka, hand weaving by looms is a major industry. The mentor worked after hours with Mrs. Hewage, (a senior designer at Hayley’s, a global textiles business). The activity concentrated on developing a start-up business. A colleague of the mentor, Mr. Randy Fisher of Customer Discovery Pros came onboard to help with a customer discovery project to understand the potential directions (including customer needs, segmenting and finding product and market fit) and the viability and profitability of the start-up. As a result of the customer segmentation data gleaned from this Customer Discovery project, Ms. Hewage changed her business model and pivoted towards the creation of a branded fashion design house. Ushani Handcrafted + Quality Designs now offers unique textiles/clothing/shoes to costume designers, VIPs, and celebrities. Ms. Hewage has pitched her business to the UofM Enterprise industry advisory network to obtain feedback and identify potential collaborators. She has also submitted a successful application for funding support from Sri Lanka’s National Science Foundation. Mentoring continues with discussions of a license with friendly terms from the University to the start-up. A carefully designed intellectual property protection plan is being implemented.
 
Malaysia: Nano-tocotrienols
The staggering growth of palm oil production in Malaysia and Indonesia over the past fifty years has reshaped the global market of fats and oils. Palm oil now accounts for around 30% of global vegetable oil production and is processed in Malaysia to value-added products. The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) is a government research organization that carries out research to support the industry. Many of the projects look to add value to waste streams and by-product streams from processing palm oil. Distilling palm fatty acid generates a by-product stream that contains palm oil fatty acids, carotene and phyto steroids, one of which is tocotrienol, a member of the Vitamin E family. Dr. Fu Ju Yen, a researcher at MPOB has developed a liposomal delivery system for tocotrienols that results in superior in vivo absorption. Dr. Yen can tweak the charge, coating and size of the nano particles and can combine compounds inside the particles. She decided to target animal feed, which accounts for about 30% of the Vitamin E market. She has been working with a veterinarian who has a business importing animal feed additives and has identified a local company that is interested in building a plant to make the feed additive. A study in chickens has confirmed the superior efficacy that was seen in rat studies. Preliminary results from chicken study showed up to 7% higher egg production rate in nano-tocotrienols group compared to placebo. However, the result was based on a single dose. Dose calculation and cost benefit analysis will be carried out. Selected patent applications have been filed.
 
A local palm oil refinery has expressed interest in and has discussed terms for licensing the technology. MPOB in collaboration with the company has submitted an application for National Technology and Innovation Sandbox (NTIS) Grant spearheaded by from the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MITI) to commercialize the technology, with target sectors being Medical and Healthcare. Target clients will be food manufacturers and the nutraceutical ingredient industry as the next generation products. In the next 6 months, the project will focus on plant installation with GMP certification, while R&D efforts aim to generate clinical data in human trials. A current limitation is a lack of knowledge on client requirements, so they are planning to provide samples to potential clients in order to generate feedback.
 
The role of mentoring was to identify the value proposition of the technology and its superior cost-in-use and to empower Dr. Yen to discuss the value of the technology with her industrial contacts.
 
The Philippines: Mosquito Repellant
An initial discovery of mosquito repellency in an extract of an endemic Philippine wild plant, evolved into the development of potentially valuable bioactive molecules. The university laboratory determined that a crude extract of the plant species was effective in mosquito repellency at low concentrations and was insecticidal at higher concentrations. Working with the WIPO EIE Mentoring team, it became apparent that the invention is potentially much larger in scope. Current hypothesis is that specific molecules in the extract have various bioactivities in arthropods, nematodes, protozoans, other animals, and microbes. The thorough evaluation of inventiveness of the initial discovery in the mentored tech transfer process, has led to a blossoming of the technology opportunity. In addition, opportunities for agronomic development of the plant and economic involvement of indigenous groups that are familiar with the plant, have also sprung out of the Mentoring process.  Intellectual property has been documented and a strategy for protection is in place.
 
Thailand: Method for Inducing Microbial Mutagenesis to Produce Lactic Acid
At the beginning of mentoring, the TTO had already filed a PCT and some national-phase patent applications. Although the TTO intuitively knew the technology had value, they had not delved deeply into the market relevance and value proposition. Through mentoring, a solid business case was developed for the invention. Also, at the outset, the TTO did not have any plan for a proactive technology marketing campaign, one that would emphasize those countries where patent applications were pending. The Mentors provided significant assistance in showing the TTO how to find potential licensees and key contact names within those companies. In addition, the Mentors provided a listing of target companies in relevant countries. Perhaps, most importantly the Mentors encouraged the TTO to review with the former US patent examiner how the results are unexpected to overcome obviousness objections raised in the PCT search results. At the same time, the Mentors showed the TTO the value of the tangible biological materials that comprise the invention and provided specific guidance in how to control the ownership of such materials through well-crafted bailment contracts (i.e., Material Transfer Agreement), and appropriate license agreements. The mentoring process has established a platform for marketing the invention to target licensees, created the basis for long-term value-capture by Chiang Mai University through a bioproperty-based mechanism, and provided the basis for negotiating a license agreement. The next step is to reach out to the company contacts and engage in a typical pre-license dialogue followed by license negotiation.

It is hoped that by the conclusion of the WIPO EIE program, by connecting seasoned TT professionals from around the globe with TTOs in the participating countries that the Lessons Learned by others will be of use to the participants to accelerate their activities and hopefully avoid the mistakes made elsewhere.

We have found that the program is forming lasting professional friendships, a hallmark of the tech transfer community. The mentors found the same belief in the importance of, and passion for, our profession in the people they are working with who are the pioneers in developing tech transfer in these newer ecosystems.

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October 7, 2020
Recent Tech Transfer Developments in East Asia
By Alwin Wong
AUTM International Strategy Committee, Asia Regional Chair
Immediate Past Secretary-General, International Strategic Technology Alliance
 
Technology innovation and East Asia regional economies have been affected by two global factors, the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical conflicts. Surprisingly, individual countries remain resilient with Korea and China having the strongest rebound. Korea has steadily made up the productivity loss it suffered in the second quarter, whereas China, after a near national shut down in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, proceeded on full steam with its economic stimulation engine to reboot the industrial activities towards the end of Q2. While Japan is yet to emerge from the shadows of the pandemic, it is unlikely that the end of the Abe-era will affect the established tech transfer framework and practice in the short term.
 
China is accelerating its top-down directives to improve tech transfer effectiveness by strengthening the weaker links of the tech transfer value chain. For example, programs and resources are provided to enhance the management practices of professionals to more effectively fill the structural gaps between research and the marketplace. In developed clusters of concentrated research institutes and universities, municipal governments are racing to establish programs and measures to recognize professionalism and expertise of tech transfer professionals, linking academic credentials, expertise, and professional accreditation and recognition. Governments are also providing additional economic motivation to researchers for commercializing their research outputs, to the extent of guaranteeing a minimum entitlement of 70% share of the commercialization benefits or the ownership of the IP associated with the invention. Sharing of international best practices in tech transfer remains very much sought after, although the usual channels of exchange and communication are reduced to the limitations of video conferencing.
 
Lacking national standards, the advocacy for structured education of tech transfer professionals has resulted in new post-graduate academic programs at the business schools of universities who lead in tech transfer activities. The Beijing tech community, with Zongguancun leading the pack, sought out Tsinghua to run a FinTech master’s program with a tech transfer concentration. In Shanghai, the municipal government established the new Institute of Technology Transfer to leverage university resources to augment the tech transfer development roadmap of the East China National Tech Transfer Centre. Global competition and trade restrictions, such as in the 5G market, have resulted in Chinese governments providing more emphasis in research commercialization to provide domestic innovation pipelines. The combination of COVID-19 and global tensions have affected the themes and activities at conferences and symposia. International collaboration and partnerships advocating for tech transfer take place less often, except for well-known speakers from the most established organizations and friendly nations that can be mapped across China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
 
For business and scientific professionals, the challenges of dealing with China today can be turned into opportunities. They include tech-related foreign investments, import and export control on technologies and components, intellectual property, cybersecurity, data privacy and government disclosures. However, opportunities will continue to be affected by international policies among global powerhouses for the near future. 
 
Geopolitics have also reduced international training and exchange programs, as travel restrictions have been imposed among nations for most of 2020. Despite reduced international events, one noteworthy development in the region is the growing attention to the value of intellectual property in innovation and commerce. With Singapore’s Darren Tang taking WIPO’s helm as its Director-General for the next 6 years, the city state will definitely take bolder steps to become a leading partner among ASEAN members in creating synergy in regional innovation systems through related G2G IP programs.
 
The dynamics of geopolitics has inadvertently cautioned many Asian countries to revisit their innovation policies, IP business, and the technology marketplace in the wake of global decoupling and regional alliances, especially in ASEAN and the Far East. Much of the value of tech innovation companies lies within their intangible assets, most of which are protected by strategic business barriers and intellectual property rights. Singapore has aspired to become a regional IP hub where related IP transactions, trade and investments would take place. Sino-American tension, in an odd way, may have moved Singapore further toward this goal. Singapore’s potential to replace Hong Kong as the new super-connector between East and West could attract further technology innovation investment.

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August 12, 2020
How the Pandemic Is Impacting Knowledge Transfer in Europe
By Laura MacDonald
Chief Executive, ASTP
AUTM International Committee, European Regional Chair
 
Associations Go Digital
As a dynamic, interactive region of many nations, universities and companies, European knowledge transfer (KT) players have been drastically impacted by the changed world in which we are all now living and working. However, the KT community is keen to understand, contribute and share ideas about how best to move forward. While an informal survey on this very topic is being rolled out over summer 2020 by ASTP (results shared early autumn), we see evidence of new activities and new terms of engagement.

For the national KT associations responsible for maintaining networks and enhancing the skills of the practitioners, the abolition of face-to-face trainings and networking events could have led to isolated offices and individuals. Given the parallel drive from our societies to play even more active roles in seeking solutions to the pandemic, an urgent sense of creativity and desire to stay even more connected has led to many associations developing online activities. These range from entire training courses with CE points, single masterclasses, and informal webinar meetings to share and discuss trends, problems and inspiration.

It seems likely that the new era of digital learning and sharing strengthens various communities. While everyone looks forward to resuming face-to-face engagements, our digital skills are being honed and some experiences are even enhanced through utilization of the technologies now widely available. This means that we can enjoy live events digitally, capture and record events to make them available virtually, and provide access to an even wider audience and their geographies.

IPR Manifesto
The European Commission has concluded its work with strategic partners across the innovation ecosystem on guiding principles for accessing IPR needed for solutions in the current pandemic. A new manifesto was launched, with inspiration from many existing practices from around the globe. It will be fascinating to see how widely this new version of guiding principles will be embraced, and ultimately whether there is impact from this new approach to access IPR. The Manifesto for EU COVID-19 research, targeted to maximize the accessibility of Covid-relevant Horizon research results, was launched on July 28, 2020.
View the Manifesto

KT/TT Metrics
On the other hand, across Europe there continue to be many KT “business as usual activities” rolling out. Taking inspiration from a topic that has attracted attention over recent decades, a first EU Expert group jointly run by the European Commission Centre of Competence for Technology Transfer and ASTP led to a summary of recommendations for identifying metrics related to KT/TT activities. This first report was published earlier in 2020 and a second group is working to move the project further down the path to acceptance (report expected at the end of 2020). It is expected that the implementation strategy will bring consensus on data and that useful comparisons are possible.

In the meantime, ASTP will be running a webinar in fall 2020 highlighting the results of the first study. Details will be available to enable participation of the global KT community. While the work focuses on EU-active communities, there is much broader relevance. We will provide updates to the AUTM community on the content of the reports.

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June 17, 2020
Knowledge/Technology Transfer in Brazil – Merging Historical and Personal Perspectives
By Shirley Virginia Coutinho
Executive Manager, Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
AUTM International Strategy Committee, Co-chair for Latin America Region
and
Marli Elizabeth Ritter Dos Santos
AUTM International Strategy Committee, Volunteer for Latin America Region
 
Historical Perspectives
Measured by the numbers of articles on ISI indexed international scientific journals, Brazil is ranked 13th in the world for scientific production, and 64th in innovation according to the 2019 Global Innovation Index.

The governmental investment in scientific and technological research and development began in 1950, with the creation of the National Council for Superior Level Education Assessment (CAPES) and National Council for Scientific and Technological Research (CONICET). This led to considerable investments in science, technological development and innovation, but lacked articulation with from 1970-1980. In the 1990s, specific programs, institutions and special funds were created to address technological gaps and improve innovation.

In 2004, after a period of intense discussions, the “Innovation Law” (Law No. 10.973/2004) was enacted and became a prominent landmark and watershed event in the management of IP, knowledge and technology at universities and technological centers. Highlights of the legislation include:

• acknowledgment of the role of academic institutions in the innovation process;
• reinforcement of the importance of the industry-academy linkages for the country's technological development;
• removal of main bureaucratic obstacles; and
• mandatory establishment of technology transfer offices in universities and research institutions

Conflicts among laws and the persistence of bureaucratic obstacles led to a revision of the law in 2016. The new legal framework extended the scope and introduced improvements. Some pitfalls were also eliminated to clarify and enforce the public-private partnership and increase productivity and competitiveness of the enterprises through innovation.

The National Forum of Innovation and Technology Transfer Managers (FORTEC) was created in 2006, to represent professionals dedicated to the management of innovation policies and activities related to IP and knowledge/technology transfer in the bodies designated by the Innovation Law as Technological Innovation Nucleus (NITs). FORTEC was registered as a non-profit association in 2011, with a mission to develop a training mechanism of human resources to support TTOs and disseminate best practices. Since then, FORTEC has expanded its membership from 42 in 2006 to more than 400 members today.

The FORTEC network includes national counterparts (Innovative Enterprise and Entrepreneurs Associations), such as ANPROTEC, ABIPTI ANPEI, ABVCAP, Brazil ANGELS, and international counterparts as AUTM in the US; Réseau Curie, France; Praxis-Auril, UK; RedOTRI, Spain; RedOTT, México, and RedViTec, Argentina. In addition, FORTEC has become an important partner of the National Institute for Industrial Property (INPI), and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and its educational and acceleration programs.

The collaboration with AUTM began in 2009, in Marli Elizabeth Ritter dos Santos’ term as the first president of FORTEC. In doing research for her doctorate, she contacted AUTM for best practices in technology transfer training. This resulted in licensing a Portuguese translation of AUTM’s Technology Transfer Manual (TTM). With the support of the Brazilian Ministry of S&T, she launched the Portuguese manual at the 2010 Annual Meeting of FORTEC, which was fundamental in supporting FORTEC’s training of technology transfer professionals. Fruitful collaborations between AUTM and FORTEC continue, with participation in AUTM’s International Strategy Committee, the Technology Transfer Leadership Summit and the AUTM Annual Meeting.

Today, all university and research centers have mobilized to face the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, including manufacturing of personal protection equipment and artificial respirators, and implementing humanitarian actions. The FORTEC board of directors is leading a group of associates involved in these actions throughout the country.   

Personal Perspectives

Marli Elizabeth Ritter Dos Santos
The history of academic technology transfer in Brazil mirrors my own history. In 1997, I faced a challenge to structure and put into operation an Office of Technology Transfer at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. At that time, there was neither legislation nor traditions in university-enterprise linkages. The scenario was full of obstacles, including a lack of protections for research, or facts about transferring them to the market, a heavy bureaucracy, and no procedures to facilitate innovative entrepreneurship. When I began working as a TTO manager, there were few national references for structuring offices. So, I looked abroad for some experience to inspire me. I discovered AUTM’s Technology Transfer Manual, which was useful for implementation of institutional policies and protections of IP and tech transfer.

Shirley Virginia Coutinho
After 32 years in management at Brazil’s largest mineral and logistics company, Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (“Vale”), I began a new career as a volunteer liaison for the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) and the Brazilian business community to help launch new business ventures with recent graduates and their technology-based products and services. As a member of the task force working on Brazil’s “Innovation Law,” I met Marli Elizabeth Ritter dos Santos - a learning process and a friendship initiated for the benefit of my new career. The Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property Office at PUC-Rio, was just starting when I became its Executive Manager for innovation enhancement, technology transfer and IP negotiation. To help further expand these efforts, in Brazil and other developing countries, I worked as a specialist for WIPO and INPI in Brazil and served as president of FORTEC.  

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April 22, 2020
Technology Transfer in Canada
By Darren Fast, PhD
Director, Partnerships & Innovation, University of Manitoba
Regional Chair for Canada, AUTM International Strategy Committee
 
Canadians comprise AUTM’s largest group of technology transfer professionals outside of the United States, with 155 current members. We are spread across a very large country and many of our TTOs are small. But despite that, we are quite well connected with each other. This is accomplished through in-person meetings such as an AUTM’s Canadian Region Meeting, which sadly won’t happen in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Canadian Luncheon held at AUTM’s Annual Meeting. A Director's Forum is held annually at the Canadian Region Meeting, which enables key decision makers to discuss processes and best practices unique to our work. These meetings generally draw a representative sampling from across Canada, bolstered by a strong speaker lineup engaged by the hard-working meeting steering committee.
 
In addition to the connections we have through AUTM, we also have a more informal group called CTTP (Canadian Technology Transfer Professionals) that has a monthly conference call for anyone interested in technology transfer. This group also has an active bulletin board where people can seek and find help from their Canadian peers. We also have a few provincial groups in some of the more populated provinces.
 
Technology transfer in Canada is in many ways very similar to that of the much larger US community to our south, but some important differences. For example, Canada doesn’t have a Bayh-Dole equivalent, thus each institution must create its own policies around ownership of inventions. The policies range from 100% inventor-owned to 100% institution-owned, with many institutions offering joint ownership with inventors.

At the 2019 Director's Forum, we identified a number of key issues facing the Canadian tech transfer community. A summary of those issues was released by AUTM.

AUTM’s next Canadian Region Meeting will be held May 10-12, 2021, in Montreal, Quebec, and we invite you to attend.

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February 26, 2020
Technology Transfer in Africa
By Andrew Bailey, PhD and Diana A. Owusu Antwi
Co-chairs of the Africa Regional Committee
AUTM International Strategy Committee

As our technology transfer colleagues are aware, universities typically mature from a teaching focus, into being research driven. Comprised of fifty four countries with three official (and countless local) languages, Africa has considerable economic diversity.  

There are four regional Research & Innovation Management Associations (RIMA) in Africa. The Southern African RIMA (SARIMA) is the most established with a regional membership of around 330. It is a member of the Association of Technology Transfer Professionals (ATTP), offers courses and holds an annual conference that enables members to attain RTTP status. AUTM members are warmly invited to attend the 2020 Sarima Conference, being held Aug. 4-7 in Botswana. 

Sixteen universities belong to the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA). While the members have TT activity, patent filings are generally modest. Discussions around innovation and corresponding benchmarking are now a focus of annual meetings.

The Southern Africa Innovation Support Programme (SAIS 2) is a regional initiative that supports the growth of new businesses through strengthening innovation ecosystems and promotion of cross-border collaboration. SAIS 2 is supported by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (MFA), in partnership with the Ministries responsible for Science, Technology and Innovation of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia, and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat. SARIMA provides technology transfer training and mentoring to regional universities.

South Africa has the most developed TT community, with local legislation (IP Rights from Publicly Financed R&D Act (IPR Act), similar to the Bayh-Dole Act. The IPR Act requires public universities to have or be a member of a TTO. The National IP Management Office (NIPMO) implements the IPR Act, and has made government funding available for development of South African TTOs. NIPMO gathers TTO metrics through its Inaugural Baseline Study.
 
The South African funding environment for university start-ups is challenging, though establishment of the University Technology Fund by the SA SME Fund in January 2020 aims to bridge the gap between early-stage technologies from universities and South African venture capital funds.

Most universities outside of South Africa are in the very early stages of, or are not yet focused on technology transfer, attributable to limited funding, lack of resources, incentives or capacity, or the “publish or perish” syndrome. However, some universities have initiated measures to help to promote innovation and technology transfer.

In Ghana, TTOs were established in five universities and research institutions with the support of the World Bank and the Danish International Development Agency to the Government of Ghana. The Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation is also spearheading establishment of a Ghana Innovation and Research Commercialisation Centre.

The absence of incentives at a national level for businesses that support Ghanaian university research has contributed to limited research collaboration between academia and industry, with a relatively small number of industry funded research projects undertaken by universities and research institutions. Nonetheless, universities in Ghana are making concerted efforts in establishing university industry collaborations in a bid to solve industry and/or societal challenges, drive innovation and economic development.

Nigeria’s National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), is under the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, and regulates the inflow of foreign technology. NOTAP is also responsible for the commercialisation of viable research and development results, inventions and innovations.

Currently, there are 24 AUTM members from South Africa, Ghana, Morocco and Nigeria. African universities have the potential to facilitate job creation through knowledge and technology transfer, and it is important that governments, universities and key stakeholders establish adequate measures in support.  

Andrew Bailey, PhD is Senior Manager: Innovation, University of Cape Town, and President-Elect, SARIMA. Diana A. Owusu Antwi is Research and Development Officer, University of Ghana.

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December 4, 2019
Where is the Knowledge Transfer Profession Going? - Insights from ASTP’s Fall Meeting
By Dr. Martin Raditsch
CEO, INNOVECTIS
President, ASTP
European Regional Chair, AUTM International Committee
 
In addition to its dynamic Annual Conference each May, ASTP, the pan-European association of knowledge transfer professionals, runs a much more intimate event known as its Fall Meeting. This year the event was held in Leiden, The Netherlands for 2 days of workshop-based exchange of best (and worst!) knowledge/tech transfer (KT/TT) practices on a wide range of practical, and even philosophical, topics. I am delighted to share the following snippets of content with our global colleagues, and welcome feedback on the topics and our conclusions.
 
In a workshop on Publishing TT Experiences (facilitated by Christian Stein, General Manager, Ascenion GmbH, Germany and Tom Hockaday, Independent Consultant, Technology Transfer Innovation, UK), we discussed the relevance of publishing articles in peer-reviewed journals (such as International Journal of Technology Transfer), where typically only researchers in the areas of innovation or patent management publish their findings. Since we do not need publications in our careers as scientists do, and we don’t reach our target audiences by utilizing these channels, the question posed was an important one: What’s in it for us?
 
There was consensus among participants that we should publish and share our outputs and success stories, and that we should utilize many different channels to do so. Examples included providing guest comments along with researchers who are driving papers, partnering with similarly-focused publications (as some of us recently did in a special tech transfer edition with LES), enhancing the length and quality of the stories we share on our own websites and newsletters, and encouraging a greater exchange of information to trigger compilations of experiences.  
 
The second snippet is from the closing plenary debate, where three veteran KT/TT protagonists presented their views on The Future of our Profession. Sean Fielding (Chair, PraxisAuril, University of Exeter, UK) delivered a highly recognizable picture of ever-increasing engagement by the whole innovation ecosystem of KT/TT. Evidenced by increasing governmental expectations, sometimes coupled with capacity support, his view was that KT/TT professionals are becoming essential, and perhaps even the most important, element of current and future university activity. He predicts our future as professionals will continue to shine brightly. Alison Campbell (former AUTM Chair, currently Head of Knowledge Transfer Ireland) looked back at the entirety of her work experience, together with strong insights from current global activities, and concluded that Sean is not correct. In fact, she predicts that the current position of KT is likely to remain exactly where it currently sits, balanced somewhere between the academic/teaching missions of universities and the outreach audiences from industry. In other words, valued by some and effective in many cases, but unlikely to become essential across the board of all disciplines.
 
Finally, we heard from Henric Rhedin (past-president ASTP, University of Gothenberg, Sweden), who envisions KT professionals disappearing from future university landscapes. The reason? Not because KT/TT will cease to be relevant—quite the opposite. He predicts that current KT/TT professionals will be replaced by embedded, multi-skilled people affiliated entirely within the academic groups. Thus, a stand-alone community of professionals could disappear.
 
The debate concluded with a vote on 2 questions: What outcome did we prefer to see, and which did we actually expect as the most likely? Sean’s position convincingly won the first vote, while Henric’s was deemed most likely in the future scenario. Does this mean we are in fact the ultimate optimists? For further discussions, please consider joining the 2020 Annual Conference, May 27-29, 2020 in Lisbon, Portugal.

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October 9, 2019
Technology Transfer in Chile and Opportunities in Green Tech
By Bernardita Araya Kleinsteuber, PhD
Executive Director, Hubtec Chile
Member, AUTM International Strategy Committee, Latin America

2019 has been an active year for science and technology in Chile. In particular for clean and green technologies, as Chile is about to host the Conference of the Parties (COP25) and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings. As the adverse effects of climate change have become more widely acknowledged, a wide range of initiatives to promote research and technology transfer have opened.

The Paris Agreement of 2015 warned that effective climate action efforts would require the commitment of governments, private sectors, financial institutions, academia, local communities and individuals. But how much can academic inventions and technology transfer efforts contribute to this global goal?
At COP25, high-level representatives from 197 countries will gather to promote active policies for caring for and protect the planet. Discussions will focus on care of the oceans and Antarctica, importance of electromobility and renewable energy, enhancement of the circular economy and the protection of ecosystems, forests and biodiversity. All key areas where Chile has competitive advantages.

Chile´s economic development agency, Corfo, has launched a Clean Technologies Consortium that will be key to lithium research and operations in the Atacama Desert. It seeks to make Chile a world leader in clean technologies by providing $194 million (US) in public funding. 
Chile is highly vulnerable to climate change. In its region there is a high exposure to forest fires and also large areas of fresh water conserved in the form of glaciers and other bodies of water that face tremendous threat if the planet's temperature continues to rise. Chile serves as an important example to other Latin American countries where several factors drive the growth of sustainable technology. The region is also turning to new green solutions for old development problems typified by pollution, water shortages, waste disposal and traffic congestion challenges in its cities.

Technology transfer in Chile is a rapidly evolving field. There have been numerous efforts, mainly led by Corfo, to support the installation, promotion and growth of technology transfer offices.

Before 2012, tech transfer activities were scattered among the largest universities, with each forging efforts to promote academic-industry relations. In that year, the creation of a national association for technology managers (RedGT) was critical to economic development. In 2012, RedGT and Corfo collaborated to fund the installation of tech transfer offices within 20 universities and an R&D Center. The program provided a strong kickoff for tech transfer activity in the country, plus institutional support and widespread adoption of IP policies and best practices.

Subsequently, Corfo continued its support in 2015-2016 by funding and launching the Technology Transfer Hubs Program, a collaborative model for globally commercializing the most promising Chilean technologies. The program included participation of public and private universities from different regions of the country and represented a national effort to support academic technology transfer.

Today, three hubs lead the tech transfer efforts in Chile. HubTec, KnowHub and the Andes Pacific Technology Access, APTA, include participation of twenty-six universities, eight national research centers, four international research centers and influential industry and VC partners. Additionally, the Manufacturing Development Society (Sofofa), the biggest industrial association in Chile, has formed an open innovation platform with support from Corfo to tackle demand-driven industry challenges and work in collaboration with university-based technology transfer hubs.

The hubs support all tech transfer activities at partner universities, with HubTec focusing on early engagement with industry. Each hub faces similar challenges: promoting collaboration, increasing TTO capacities, engaging researchers and building the necessary trust to advance collaborative work.   

This year also saw the installation of the new Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation. In 2020 all tech transfer initiatives, offices and hubs will migrate to this new institution. One of the main challenges of the Ministry is promoting engagement between academia and industry and rearticulating the institutional conformation of science and innovation ecosystems.

Chile has more opportunities than ever for partnering with industry, private and public partners to generate meaningful impact on society. It demonstrates that with the support of political leaders, engaged academic research and committed industry and private partners there will be sustainable development and a greater impact on the economy.

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August 14, 2019
Understanding the Tech Transfer Landscape Across Asia
By Alwin Wong and Linara Axanova

Asia has a geographical stretch beyond most people’s imagination, spanning over 50 countries from Japan to Israel, each with a unique culture, state of development, and corresponding needs and interest in what tech transfer can do for various stakeholders.

East Asia: China and Japan

With China rising as one of the most sizable economic bodies in the world, the state has focused much of its effort in creating innovation systems for sustained development beyond infrastructural growth. Advocating the need for innovation for impact, universities and research institutes in China view commercialization of their inventions for economic development and structural innovation as fundamental. The Commercialization Law Amendment (2015), similar to the Bayh-Dole Act, gives institutions the right and the responsibilities to convert their research output to economic outcomes. 

The International Strategic Technology Alliance (ISTA) draws together universities in China to facilitate partnerships with industry. It works with AUTM to provide professional development to those seeking the RTTP (Registered Technology Transfer Professional) credential. Hong Kong, home to five leading universities, continues to benefit from well-established legal and financial systems trusted by both China and the West, and is expected to play a pivotal role in refining the fast growing innovation and technology development clusters.

In Japan, the University Network for Innovation and Technology Transfer (UNITT) is a leading university-based organization aiming to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of university-industry technology transfer activities.  The Japanese tech transfer practice follows a similar approach to that of North America, except its practitioners (which are more concentrated in the academic communities) work with collaborators with both academia and industry under structured programs and government initiatives. Presently, Japan emphasizes program-driven endeavors over entrepreneurial projects for capturing market opportunities.

West Asia: Russia and Kazakhstan

Few countries have grappled with governmental disruption on the scale of the break-up of the Soviet Union and its transition to a market-based economy.  

Innovation management in the USSR was once a highly centralized process. Technology transfer in post-USSR Russia began to develop in the early 2000s when initial governmental funding was provided for creation of regional technology transfer centers (TTCs) and university technology transfer offices (TTOs). The number of TTOs remains low compared to the number of research organizations – 118 TTOs in 2016 (about 5 percent of all universities. Currently, commercialization activity at most universities occurs through start-up companies. 

A 2012 Federal Act allowed universities to become stakeholders in university start-up companies, and led to formation of over 2,200 new companies by 2016. There are currently several challenges for technology transfer efforts in Russia. First, there is no equivalent of the Bayh-Dole Act. University inventions are considered state-owned property and universities must endure a complex process before proceeding with licensing. Other complications include  low awareness of and interest in university inventions from the commercial sector, a need for trained TTO staff to evaluate, market, and license IP, the need for financial support for patenting and other expenses, and a need for innovation to be viewed as necessary to a competitive advantage. 

On a positive note, a recently created National Association of Technology Transfer (NATT)  is working on legislation similar to the Bayh-Dole Act which, if passed, is expected to stimulate the development of technology transfer in Russia. The Association also focuses on education in the field of innovation and building communications and interactions between the commercial sector and research entities. There is hope that these activities will stimulate interest in technology transfer and support the scientists and inventors at Russian universities and research institutions.  

Kazakhstan experienced a deep recession post-USSR, but stabilized in the 1990s and showed strong growth for over a decade. The government continued to increase national R&D to boost science and technology, but innovation and value creation lagged. With support from the World Bank, Kazakhstan is focused on strengthening its domestic innovation capabilities to increase productivity. A non-governmental professional association, the Alliance of Technology Commercialization Professionals (ATCP), was formed. ATCP promotes and develops best practices for building technology transfer capacity at universities, technology parks, business incubators and companies.  

For a better understanding of the tech transfer communities throughout Asia and other regions, consider registering to attend the AUTM Asia 2019 International Conference organized by Yissum, of The Hebrew University, and the Israel Technology Transfer Network (ITTN) in Jerusalem, November 4 - 7. The event will give you an in-depth overview of Israel’s successful ecosystem, international best practices, and networking with investors, entrepreneurs, and professionals from around the world.

Alwin Wong, RTTP, is the Director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Chair of AUTM’s International Strategy, Asia Regional Committee.

Linara Axanova, PhD, is the Associate Director of the Penn Center for Innovation, University of Pennsylvania and a member of AUTM’s International Strategy, Asia Regional Committee.

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June 19, 2019
Thriving Around the Globe with a Shared Vision
By David Gulley, AUTM International Strategy Chair

If you’ve been to one of AUTM’s Annual Meetings and interacted with the hundreds of Association members who attend from around the globe, you know tech transfer is thriving worldwide with a shared vision.

AUTM may be based in the US, but it is comprised of members from more than 60 countries. Today the Association’s International Committee members represent Africa, Asia/Australasia, Canada, Europe, and Latin America. They have different perspectives, work within different contexts, and hail from different cultures. Yet there are many common threads. All face similar challenges and they share a commitment to the profession and its global impact, with a shared desire to support its evolution and to empower the members of our profession. 

US efforts in academic tech transfer began in 1980 with the US Bayh-Dole Act. In the years that followed, other countries passed their unique laws or developed their own policies to leverage their R&D capabilities, utilize their patent system, and align resources to promote economic development and the well-being of their citizens. Today we have many strong TT systems across the globe and AUTM is strengthening its connections with them.

More than ever before, AUTM is focused on identifying strategic alliance opportunities in which AUTM can partner with like-minded associations and groups interested in strengthening their region’s tech transfer capabilities. We’ve completed a landscape analysis of each region that provides a view of economic and innovation factors, and university strengths. 

Already our newest alliances are well underway. In Mexico, for example, we’ve partnered with RedOTT (Tech Transfer Office Network), welcoming 50 new members this year and are planning professional development webinars and courses most needed by our Mexican colleagues. And in Thailand, we have developed a rich strategic dialogue and are discussing opportunities with multiple organizations.

Our strategic alliances take many forms, such as:

• Professional Development: Webinars and on-site courses that can be co-developed.
• Professional Credentials: Support for local professionals to gain recognition through Registered Technology Transfer Professional (RTTP) certification through access to AUTM training and events
• Association development: Assistance and guidance to newer or emerging associations for development towards becoming an Alliance for Technology Transfer Professionals (ATTP) Association. 
• AUTM Membership:  Regular and electronic for AUTM content, and special AUTM e-groups access to share ideas and problem solve.
• Policy and Impacts:  Assistance with national policy development; guidance and information on performance metrics, impacts, and surveys.
• Global Connections: Tools and methods to connect globally for licensing partners/R&D collaborations/investment.

How can you get your organization or company involved? Consider attending AUTM Asia, Nov. 4-7 in Jerusalem, hosted by Hebrew University. 

Or volunteer with AUTM. Our international committees are always looking for help. If you are involved in tech transfer outside the US, or have relevant experience and knowledge, reach out. 

Being a global association isn’t just about having members from around the world. It’s about embracing the growth and success of the profession world-wide. AUTM wants to be that Association.

David L. Gulley, PhD, RTTP, CLP, is Founding Director, Technology Transfer Office at the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust.