To improve private sector partnerships and increase commercialization efforts, the national labs should consider establishing external nonprofit entities to manage their commercialization efforts, according to a new report from Innovation Associates Inc.
As universities become increasingly interested in the economic development dimension of their missions, it may be appropriate to consider entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology-based economic development activities in faculty advancement decisions, according to a new report from an Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) task force.
Over the past 40 years, the number of women across the globe filing patents has risen fastest within academia compared to all other sectors of the innovation economy, according to a new study from researchers at Indiana University (IU). The researchers found that the overall percentage of patents with women's names attached rose from an average of 2 percent to 3 percent across all areas in 1976 to 18 percent in 2013 for female academics.
While there has been a significant amount of focus on identifying and cultivating academic entrepreneurs, two recent studies indicate that the environmental factors are equally important in the commercialization of academic research. These studies find that the commercialization approach of the tech transfer offices (TTOs) and institutional characteristics were vital in the success of academic research commercialization.
Working groups at The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and The Association of American Universities (AAU), two membership organizations of higher education institutions, have released statements on the role of universities in managing intellectual property and technology transfer alongside their core missions and interest in maximizing public benefit.
Earlier this year, the University of Washington (UW) relaunched its technology commercialization office as CoMotion, an entrepreneurial hub and makerspace. In doing so, UW joined a growing number of universities that have opened up their technology transfer operations to approaches inspired by the tech startup scene. The transformations of the University of Pennsylvania, Wake Forest, Tufts University and UCLA recently were profiled in Nature Biotechnology.
Of the 118 university-based startups launched in Illinois between 2006-13, about 73 percent remain in the state, according to the latest issue of the Illinois Innovation Index. The 2013 fourth quarter report of the Index focuses on the recent strides made by the state in building a stronger technology transfer pipeline. During the five-year period of 2008-12, Illinois universities received 47 percent more patents than they did during the 2003-07 period, almost triple the national growth rate.
Businesses and entrepreneurs seeking commercializable technologies now have a powerful tool to locate inventions developed at federal labs. The Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer first introduced its Available Technologies search engine last fall, but now has upgraded the tool with a Google-powered search and user profiles. Users now can create more specific search queries, which can be saved for repeated use. Access the search engine...
A report from authors Samantha Bradley, Christopher S. Hayter, and Albert N. Link explores the burgeoning role of proof-of-concept centers (PoCC) in supporting the country's innovation infrastructure. The report suggests that shifting dynamics in the global economy will continue to increase the importance of PoCCs in supporting regional innovation and national competitiveness.
Two universities, the University of New Mexico (Albuquerque, NM) and the University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ), are expanding or restructuring their economic development operations to improve commercialization of technology stemming from faculty research and the coordination and business development in their communities.