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Crisis? Which Crisis?
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In 1975 British rock band Supertramp (Breakfast in America, Dreamer … anyone?) launched an album with the title “Crisis? What Crisis?”. In 1979 the same phrase was attached to the thinking of the struggling Labour government and their attitude to the economic malaise of the day; their defeat led to the election of Margaret Thatcher as Conservative Prime Minster for the next 11 years.
Today the question is different – we know there is a crisis, in fact we know there is more than one. The first one that comes to mind is the current COVID-19 pandemic, millions of cases, hundreds of thousands of deaths. This article rehearses the response of university technology transfer offices (TTOs) to the COVID-19 crisis and then also discusses links between technology transfer and two other crises: climate change and racial inequality ....
Today the question is different – we know there is a crisis, in fact we know there is more than one. The first one that comes to mind is the current COVID-19 pandemic, millions of cases, hundreds of thousands of deaths. This article rehearses the response of university technology transfer offices (TTOs) to the COVID-19 crisis and then also discusses links between technology transfer and two other crises: climate change and racial inequality ....
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What’s University Technology Transfer Got to Do With It?
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Universities are fulfilling an extremely important role in addressing the coronavirus COVID-19 crisis, and technology transfer has an important part to play in some of this.
1. What are universities doing?
Universities around the world are leading national and international efforts to develop the vaccine that can lead us out of the crisis. They are compiling and providing their substantial laboratory equipment inventories to support national testing programmes, both the tests to know if you have it, and the tests to know if you have had it. They are designing face masks and other forms of personal protective equipment; in many cases they are also using their 3-D printing resources to produce high volumes of these. They are designing ventilators and patient support systems, based on the simplest, most reproducible engineering and design concepts. University academics are frequent commentators on radio and television programmes ...
1. What are universities doing?
Universities around the world are leading national and international efforts to develop the vaccine that can lead us out of the crisis. They are compiling and providing their substantial laboratory equipment inventories to support national testing programmes, both the tests to know if you have it, and the tests to know if you have had it. They are designing face masks and other forms of personal protective equipment; in many cases they are also using their 3-D printing resources to produce high volumes of these. They are designing ventilators and patient support systems, based on the simplest, most reproducible engineering and design concepts. University academics are frequent commentators on radio and television programmes ...
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University Technology Transfer and the Coronavirus Crisis
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Universities are fulfilling an extremely important role in addressing the coronavirus crisis, and technology transfer is a part of this.
In the UK, researchers at the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College produced the report which finally persuaded the government to get serious about the crisis. Radio and TV channels are full of expert commentary from university academics across virology, epidemiology, history, psychology, engineering. In the US, the Johns Hopkins University Centre for Systems Science and Engineering is leading the world in COVID-19 case and death data collection and presentation. Well-funded high-quality research universities are a major national asset.
Cambridge University, together with the Wellcome Sanger Institute, is coordinating the collaboration between ...
In the UK, researchers at the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College produced the report which finally persuaded the government to get serious about the crisis. Radio and TV channels are full of expert commentary from university academics across virology, epidemiology, history, psychology, engineering. In the US, the Johns Hopkins University Centre for Systems Science and Engineering is leading the world in COVID-19 case and death data collection and presentation. Well-funded high-quality research universities are a major national asset.
Cambridge University, together with the Wellcome Sanger Institute, is coordinating the collaboration between ...
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Some questions for the end of the year
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Here are some thoughts on three areas of university technology transfer to ponder over the coming days: office size; conflict management; and changing values.
Q 1: Who decides the size of the Technology Transfer Office in your university?
A: A committee, somewhere inside the university (not the TTO).
In a recent survey of Technology Transfer Office staff over 100% described themselves a ‘busy’ or ‘over-worked’. In a separate survey of university researchers, a large number said they wanted more from their TTO and were sometimes frustrated by the time the TTO takes to get things done.
Generally the researchers in a university want the TTO to be better; the managers in the TTO know that, generally, better means bigger, in terms of larger budgets to manage patent positions for longer, more TT staff to ....
Q 1: Who decides the size of the Technology Transfer Office in your university?
A: A committee, somewhere inside the university (not the TTO).
In a recent survey of Technology Transfer Office staff over 100% described themselves a ‘busy’ or ‘over-worked’. In a separate survey of university researchers, a large number said they wanted more from their TTO and were sometimes frustrated by the time the TTO takes to get things done.
Generally the researchers in a university want the TTO to be better; the managers in the TTO know that, generally, better means bigger, in terms of larger budgets to manage patent positions for longer, more TT staff to ....
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March 2019 was a busy month
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March has been a busy month for university technology transfer in the UK. There are four events to draw attention to in particular, they are all connected one way or another, although just how connected is a matter for continued discussion.
The four events are the sale of Oxford University spin-out Nightstar Therapeutics to Biogen for over US$870m, managed by Syncona plc; the decision by Imperial College to bring its technology transfer activities back in-house decades after creating Imperial Innovations Ltd; the slide of the IP Group plc share price below £1.00 on the London Stock Exchange; and Cambridge Innovation Capital raising an additional £150m ....
The four events are the sale of Oxford University spin-out Nightstar Therapeutics to Biogen for over US$870m, managed by Syncona plc; the decision by Imperial College to bring its technology transfer activities back in-house decades after creating Imperial Innovations Ltd; the slide of the IP Group plc share price below £1.00 on the London Stock Exchange; and Cambridge Innovation Capital raising an additional £150m ....
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The One About The Magnetic Gorilla
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It is Christmas time, time for Christmas-crackers and the sometimes contrived riddles that they contain. There is a popular one that reads as follows:
Q: "Where does a 600-pound gorilla sit?"
A: "Anywhere it wants to."
In 2015, a £320 million pound gorilla landed in Oxford in the form of Oxford Sciences Innovation, a new private company that had been set up to invest in spin-out companies from the University of Oxford. Osi the gorilla thrived in its Oxford habitat, announced a substantial weight gain of £230 million in 2016, and now tips the scales at a whopping £600 million of money raised ....
Q: "Where does a 600-pound gorilla sit?"
A: "Anywhere it wants to."
In 2015, a £320 million pound gorilla landed in Oxford in the form of Oxford Sciences Innovation, a new private company that had been set up to invest in spin-out companies from the University of Oxford. Osi the gorilla thrived in its Oxford habitat, announced a substantial weight gain of £230 million in 2016, and now tips the scales at a whopping £600 million of money raised ....
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Who's on Board?
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This article looks at the current practice of a few leading UK universities in the composition of their technology transfer company boards of directors, and to provide some comments on these practices. The article also provides an overview of how knowledge/technology transfer activiities are structured across UK universities.
The table below shows membership of the Boards of Directors of the ....
The table below shows membership of the Boards of Directors of the ....
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Ssh ...
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This article is about commercialisation in the Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts. The academic disciplines involved are variously grouped under the headings of SSHA, AHSS, SSAH, SSH. It is a popular topic.
There is a difference between knowledge transfer in SSHA and commercialisation in SSHA. This article is about commercialisation. Knowledge transfer is broad and includes as wide a range of possible interactions between universities and businesses, foundations, charities, institutions, and governments as you can imagine. Commercialisation in SSHA is narrower than this; it involves trying to make some financial return; there is the whiff of money about the thing ...
There is a difference between knowledge transfer in SSHA and commercialisation in SSHA. This article is about commercialisation. Knowledge transfer is broad and includes as wide a range of possible interactions between universities and businesses, foundations, charities, institutions, and governments as you can imagine. Commercialisation in SSHA is narrower than this; it involves trying to make some financial return; there is the whiff of money about the thing ...
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End of Year Reflections 2017
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Here are some thoughts on four areas of UK based university technology transfer: experiments; licensing; shareholdings; and what’s next.
1. Experimental models
There are two big experiments in hard-core, commercial technology transfer at the moment; one coming to an end at Imperial College, the other recently started in Oxford ...
1. Experimental models
There are two big experiments in hard-core, commercial technology transfer at the moment; one coming to an end at Imperial College, the other recently started in Oxford ...
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A University should be as generous as it can afford to be
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The introduction of Impact as a measure of university research excellence in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) has changed the way universities in the UK think and talk about Technology Transfer. There is now far more emphasis on the impact of university activities on the outside world, and less on the potential income to the university and others from these activities.
To many people involved in technology transfer this is not a change; we have known for decades that technology transfer is not the answer to a university’s finances; and our priorities for decades have been to transfer technology first, and to make money second.
However, this is a change in the thinking of senior ....
To many people involved in technology transfer this is not a change; we have known for decades that technology transfer is not the answer to a university’s finances; and our priorities for decades have been to transfer technology first, and to make money second.
However, this is a change in the thinking of senior ....
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"Network Soup"
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I first published this piece in February 2017; this updated version includes new entries KTI, IACHEI and UIIN. Thank you for telling me about these. Are there any others missing?
The university technology transfer community is well served by membership associations and organisations, at the national and international level ....
The university technology transfer community is well served by membership associations and organisations, at the national and international level ....
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Researchers – they are not all the same
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Isis Innovation was built on the foundation “Isis helps researchers who want help to commercialise the results of their research” (Isis Innovation was renamed Oxford University Innovation in 2016). This approach was in place well before I started working there in 2000; I came to see it as the touchstone for the organisation, and central to a successful university technology transfer programme. It was all about helping researchers do something they wanted to do; they chose, there was no compulsion for researchers to become involved; and crucially they got to decide the definition of ‘help’, not us. ...
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3 Big Numbers
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Cambridge is very good at broadcasting the dominance of the Cambridge Cluster. The community of people who make up the cluster have come together to collaborate on a number of initiatives.
One great example is the highly impressive Cambridge Cluster Map, showing overall and company specific data for all the companies in the cluster: www.camclustermap.com .
Another example is the use of three, large, memorable, numbers to convey the scale and success of the Cambridge Cluster ...
One great example is the highly impressive Cambridge Cluster Map, showing overall and company specific data for all the companies in the cluster: www.camclustermap.com .
Another example is the use of three, large, memorable, numbers to convey the scale and success of the Cambridge Cluster ...
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The one about David Bowie and the Patent Attorney
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David Bowie was a great innovator, in music, fashion, intellectual property financing, and in other areas. He once played the role of a man who relied on patents to save his family and planet.
In the film ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’ released in 1976, David Bowie plays the role of Mr Newton, the man who fell to Earth. Mr Newton’s objective is to make enough money on Earth to travel back to his homeland and save his family and planet from drought. He never makes it back. He embarks on a plan to commercialise a number of patentable inventions, is hugely successful, but is ultimately floored by the ...
In the film ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’ released in 1976, David Bowie plays the role of Mr Newton, the man who fell to Earth. Mr Newton’s objective is to make enough money on Earth to travel back to his homeland and save his family and planet from drought. He never makes it back. He embarks on a plan to commercialise a number of patentable inventions, is hugely successful, but is ultimately floored by the ...
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Things that begin with ‘P’ – And why they matter in University Technology Transfer
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Many years ago I identified four words beginning with P that accurately sum up the resources a university needs to have in its Technology Transfer Office (TTO). These resources allow the TTO to function adequately, successfully, at all! These 'Four Ps' then formed part of the conversations we had with other TTO’s who visited us at Isis Innovation, the University of Oxford’s TTO where I worked at the time.
The first four P’s were: People, Patent budget, Policies, and Proof-of-Concept funds. ...
The first four P’s were: People, Patent budget, Policies, and Proof-of-Concept funds. ...
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What is the currency of University Technology Transfer?
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I am interested in the idea of different currencies, how they are transferred and how they are exchanged and converted from one to another. Money is one of these currencies, and we all know how this is transferred, traded and exchanged. What is interesting I think are the non-monetary currencies of learning, contacts, friendship, networks, impact, reputation, publicity. This is all particularly relevant in the case of university technology transfer these days with so much uncertainty about metrics and impact; and also in life more generally. I am grateful to my comrades in the field ....
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University Technology Transfer - Share Equity Dilution, or "When 50 = 5"
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I hope that governments and other commentators will come to understand about dilution and anti-dilution of shares in university spin-out companies. Or, to put it another way: when does 50% = 5%?
A number of universities in the UK take the approach of having the same number of shares as the founding researchers have in a new spin-out company ...
A number of universities in the UK take the approach of having the same number of shares as the founding researchers have in a new spin-out company ...
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University Technology Transfer - Understanding the Label
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I hope that business, governments and other commentators will come to learn and understand the difference between university research support activity which includes helping researchers win research funding contracts and collaborations with industry on the one hand, and university technology transfer activities on the other hand which help researchers transfer technologies that belong to the university along the commercial route of technology licensing and spin-out company formation ...
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When Football echoes Technology Transfer ...
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Spin-out versus Licence.
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A frequently asked question by visitors at Isis is how do you decide whether to licence a technology to an existing company or set up a new spin-out company to develop the technology? There are many issues to consider in identifying the best route to market for an early stage technology, and many points of view to take into account.
This article discusses some of the factors involved, some of the conventionally held views and then discusses how there may be more similarities than differences. .....
This article discusses some of the factors involved, some of the conventionally held views and then discusses how there may be more similarities than differences. .....
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Phases Of Growth In University Technology Transfer
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Introduction
This paper describes phases that university technology transfer activities have passed through up to the present day, and suggests possible future developments. One of the conclusions is that some technology transfer offices may close, but only in universities that do not appreciate the non-commercial benefits that come from pursuing the commercial route for transferring technologies from a university.
This article first appeared in LES NOUVELLES, December 2013, p275.
This paper describes phases that university technology transfer activities have passed through up to the present day, and suggests possible future developments. One of the conclusions is that some technology transfer offices may close, but only in universities that do not appreciate the non-commercial benefits that come from pursuing the commercial route for transferring technologies from a university.
This article first appeared in LES NOUVELLES, December 2013, p275.
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What is the best structure for a University Technology Transfer Office?
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Introduction
Universities face a choice in deciding whether their Technology Transfer Office (TTO) should be part of the University’s administration, or a separate company. There are then subsequent choices to be made in terms of possible strategic alliances with partners and selling shares in a TTO if it is a company.
There are three general points to make. Good people can make any system work and bad people can make any system fail. Nevertheless, some systems are better than others. The structure a university decides upon will be as much a reflection of what suits that university at that time, based upon the personal experiences of the decision makers involved. Whichever system is adopted the TTO must always remember its role within the University ...
Universities face a choice in deciding whether their Technology Transfer Office (TTO) should be part of the University’s administration, or a separate company. There are then subsequent choices to be made in terms of possible strategic alliances with partners and selling shares in a TTO if it is a company.
There are three general points to make. Good people can make any system work and bad people can make any system fail. Nevertheless, some systems are better than others. The structure a university decides upon will be as much a reflection of what suits that university at that time, based upon the personal experiences of the decision makers involved. Whichever system is adopted the TTO must always remember its role within the University ...