AUTM Hosts International Tech Transfer Summit in Chile, Presents David Gulley with International Leadership Award 

Last month, AUTM and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), hosted a two-day international leadership summit in Santiago, Chile where 44 knowledge and technology transfer (K/TT) leaders from 25 countries gathered to discuss the current state of practice and future direction of the field.   

This was AUTM’s fourth global summit, and the second held in conjunction with WIPO, intended to be a dialogue among peers and experts. The high-level meeting offered a common discussion platform for key issues that influence K/TT.  

“For us, this partnership with AUTM is something that we take very seriously, and we want this to be one of many summits that we will conduct together for the benefit of the innovation ecosystem, but very particularly to improve technology transfer worldwide,” WIPO Assistant Director General Marco Aleman, PhD, told those assembled during opening remarks. 

“Innovation and tech transfer are changing the world,” echoed AUTM CEO Stephen J. Susalka, PhD. “We’re here to support knowledge and tech transfer globally.” 

The Summit, which was hosted locally by HubTec Chile, included a hot topics session to discuss pressing issues, and two panel discussions and roundtable workshops that covered the challenges facing K/TT in the next 10 years and training the next generation of KT/TT professionals.  

Among the Summit’s highlights was a special leadership award presented to AUTM Member David Gulley, PhD, Executive Director and founder of the Technology Transfer Office of the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust, a private, non-profit organization established in 2004 to improve Puerto Rico’s innovation ecosystem, for his outstanding work supporting technology transfer internationally.  

David has been a member of AUTM for more than 25 years, serving on the AUTM Board as VP for Professional Development. He currently serves on AUTM’s International Strategy Committee as Chair, engaging nine regional subcommittees across the globe. He led AUTM’s partnership with CORFO (Corporación de Fomento de la Producción de Chile) from 2010-2014 to deliver professional development programs for Chilean tech transfer staff and to establish and reinforce Chile’s technology transfer offices. 

“We’re presenting this award to David,” AUTM Chair Almesha Campbell, PhD, told Summit attendees, “for making our profession stronger all over the world.” 

AUTM will release a report on the Summit findings in early 2024.