"Network Soup"
28th February 2017; updated 16th February 2017
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.
AESIS-AILO-ARMA-ASTP-ATTP-AURIL-AUTM-EARMA-EuKTS-IKT-KCA-KTI-LES-NCUB-PraxisUNICO-PROTON-RedOTRI-RedTransfer-SARIMA-SATT-SNITTS-STEM-SUPA-SWITT- TechnologieAllianz-UDIL-UIIN-UNICO-UNITT-USIMP
I have enjoyed being involved with many of these over the years and found them extremely helpful.
My earliest experience of all these networks was UDIL, at a meeting in Warwick University (I think), back in 1994. At the time UDIL was merging with another UK nationwide network AILO, to form AURIL.
AURIL still exists, but has recently announced that it will merge with PraxisUNICO. PraxisUNICO was formed in 2009 when UNICO (started 1994) merged with Praxis (started 2003). I was Chairman of UNICO in 2003-04 as it celebrated its tenth anniversary. These are all UK organisations, with UNICO also extending membership and meetings into Ireland. How exciting it will be to learn the name of the merged AURILPraxisUNICO organization, and what it may stand for (the name I mean).
Also in the UK, we have ARMA (with its European extension EARMA), the IKT, and a branch of the LES, an international organization with regional and national chapters. Then there is NCUB, but that is an organization rather than a network, although it has members, so maybe it should be included as well. This list doesn’t even touch on the more research management and entrepreneurship based networks, where there is often an element of technology transfer.
In the USA, AUTM started in 1989, as the new name given to SUPA, presumably the first university technology transfer organization in the world, that had been established since 1974. AUTM started holding meetings in Asia in 2011 (Beijing), a sort of return match for international visitors to the US, and a busman’s holiday for the home team. I attended my first AUTM meeting in the US in 1995 (I think) and colleagues I met there are still good friends; I caught up with some of the at their recent meeting in Florida, March 2017. The US community in particular seems to foster longevity.
In Europe (the parts beyond the UK) I have had the pleasure of speaking at meetings of SWITT, SNITTS, ASTP, ASTP-Proton, RED-Otri, NetVal, and the Réseau SATT. ASTP-Proton is of course the merger of two previously separate European organisations, ASTP and ProTon Europe. ASTP was founded by a Dutch entrepreneur, whom I had first met in Morocco in 1984, by chance. He has recently established AESIS to support the growing interest in impact and the social sciences. In Germany, TechnologieAllianz is a nationwide association representing over 200 scientific institutes; standing alongside REDTransfer in Spain and Praxis in the UK in avoiding using an acronym (acronymosis, -itis?). IACHEI was established around 1987 and held meetings in Nicosia and elsewhere; it can be considered as a precursor to ASTP. UIIN is based in Amsterdam and is a dynamic network committed to driving innovation and entrepreneurship through university-industry interaction, holding its latest conference in Dublin in June 2017. In Ireland, KTI is the national office that helps business to benefit from access to Irish expertise and technology by making it simple to connect and engage with the research base in Ireland.
Further afield I know the South African SARIMA network is a very successful dynamic network, as is the KCA in Australasia, UNITT in Japan and USIMP in Turkey.
ATTP has been formed to bring together a number of other technology transfer associations under an umbrella. ATTP partners include ASTP-ProTon, AUTM, KCA, PraxisUNICO, SARIMA, SNITTS, STEM, TechnologieAllianz, UNITT, USIMP. ATTP is active in developing RTTP certification and accreditation, as is EuKTS.
ENOUGH ALREADY!! What on earth do all these acronyms stand for?
AESIS Advancing and Evaluating the Societal Impact of Science Network
AILO Association of Industry Liaison Officers
ARMA Association of Research Managers and Administrators
ATTP Alliance of Technology Transfer Professionals
ASTP Association of Science and Technology Professionals
AURIL Association of University Research and Industry Liaison
AUTM Association of University Technology Managers
EARMA European Association of Research Managers and Administrators
EuKTS European Knowledge Transfer Society
IACHEI International Association of Consultants in Higher Education & Industry
IKT Institute of Knowledge Transfer (started 2007)
KCA Knowledge Commercialisation Australasia
KTI Knowledge Transfer Ireland
LES Licensing Executives Society
NCUB National Centre for Universities and Business
NetVal Network Valorization
Praxis meaning practice, application of skills
PraxisUNICO
ProTon Europe I cannot find a reference to this; Professional …?
RedOTRI Red (Network) de Oficinas de Transferencia de Resultados de Investigación
RedTransfer Red (Network)
Réseau SATT Network of Sociétés d'Accélération du Transfert de Technologies
RTTP Registered Technology Transfer Professional
SARIMA South Africa Research and Innovation Management Association
STEM Society for Technology Management
SUPA Society of University Administrators
SWITT Swiss Technology Transfer Association
SNITTS Swedish Network for Innovation and Technology Transfer Support
TechnologieAllianz – Germany
UDIL University Directors of Industry Liaison
UIIN University Industry Innovation Network
UNICO University Companies
UNITT University Network for Innovation and Technology Transfer, Japan
USIMP Üniversite Sanayi İşbirliği Merkezleri Platformu.
They all have their stories of founders, heroic first meetings; they each have governance arrangements, membership being institutional or personal, with elaborate constitutions for electing new presidents and committee members etc.
They are all great social networks. All these networks know how to give a good party, dinner, reception etc. Some have a band, and one has an organisation song. They mostly have great websites and e-mail, chat groups. One had a meeting in a Disney resort, which I never thought felt quite right, there’s nothing Mickey Mouse about technology transfer after all. One has regular meetings on the Mediterranean coast; now that is a good idea. None has an affiliated credit card or loyalty points programme; but you never know.
Mainly they exist to share experiences, develop expertise, provide the mutual support of a self-help group, and provide a link between youth and experience (‘if youth knew, if age could’ as the saying goes). They help the activity develop; they help the profession develop.
Please do let me know of university technology transfer membership associations and organisations not mentioned above. There must be a few …
Tom Hockaday
Technology Transfer Innovation
Founder: SETUP *
[* SETUP Self-Employed Technology University Professionals. Founded in 2017 this network is a figment of the author’s imagination; unless … you never know ….?]
The university technology transfer community is well served by membership associations and organisations, at the national and international level.
AESIS-AILO-ARMA-ASTP-ATTP-AURIL-AUTM-EARMA-EuKTS-IKT-KCA-KTI-LES-NCUB-PraxisUNICO-PROTON-RedOTRI-RedTransfer-SARIMA-SATT-SNITTS-STEM-SUPA-SWITT- TechnologieAllianz-UDIL-UIIN-UNICO-UNITT-USIMP
I have enjoyed being involved with many of these over the years and found them extremely helpful.
My earliest experience of all these networks was UDIL, at a meeting in Warwick University (I think), back in 1994. At the time UDIL was merging with another UK nationwide network AILO, to form AURIL.
AURIL still exists, but has recently announced that it will merge with PraxisUNICO. PraxisUNICO was formed in 2009 when UNICO (started 1994) merged with Praxis (started 2003). I was Chairman of UNICO in 2003-04 as it celebrated its tenth anniversary. These are all UK organisations, with UNICO also extending membership and meetings into Ireland. How exciting it will be to learn the name of the merged AURILPraxisUNICO organization, and what it may stand for (the name I mean).
Also in the UK, we have ARMA (with its European extension EARMA), the IKT, and a branch of the LES, an international organization with regional and national chapters. Then there is NCUB, but that is an organization rather than a network, although it has members, so maybe it should be included as well. This list doesn’t even touch on the more research management and entrepreneurship based networks, where there is often an element of technology transfer.
In the USA, AUTM started in 1989, as the new name given to SUPA, presumably the first university technology transfer organization in the world, that had been established since 1974. AUTM started holding meetings in Asia in 2011 (Beijing), a sort of return match for international visitors to the US, and a busman’s holiday for the home team. I attended my first AUTM meeting in the US in 1995 (I think) and colleagues I met there are still good friends; I caught up with some of the at their recent meeting in Florida, March 2017. The US community in particular seems to foster longevity.
In Europe (the parts beyond the UK) I have had the pleasure of speaking at meetings of SWITT, SNITTS, ASTP, ASTP-Proton, RED-Otri, NetVal, and the Réseau SATT. ASTP-Proton is of course the merger of two previously separate European organisations, ASTP and ProTon Europe. ASTP was founded by a Dutch entrepreneur, whom I had first met in Morocco in 1984, by chance. He has recently established AESIS to support the growing interest in impact and the social sciences. In Germany, TechnologieAllianz is a nationwide association representing over 200 scientific institutes; standing alongside REDTransfer in Spain and Praxis in the UK in avoiding using an acronym (acronymosis, -itis?). IACHEI was established around 1987 and held meetings in Nicosia and elsewhere; it can be considered as a precursor to ASTP. UIIN is based in Amsterdam and is a dynamic network committed to driving innovation and entrepreneurship through university-industry interaction, holding its latest conference in Dublin in June 2017. In Ireland, KTI is the national office that helps business to benefit from access to Irish expertise and technology by making it simple to connect and engage with the research base in Ireland.
Further afield I know the South African SARIMA network is a very successful dynamic network, as is the KCA in Australasia, UNITT in Japan and USIMP in Turkey.
ATTP has been formed to bring together a number of other technology transfer associations under an umbrella. ATTP partners include ASTP-ProTon, AUTM, KCA, PraxisUNICO, SARIMA, SNITTS, STEM, TechnologieAllianz, UNITT, USIMP. ATTP is active in developing RTTP certification and accreditation, as is EuKTS.
ENOUGH ALREADY!! What on earth do all these acronyms stand for?
AESIS Advancing and Evaluating the Societal Impact of Science Network
AILO Association of Industry Liaison Officers
ARMA Association of Research Managers and Administrators
ATTP Alliance of Technology Transfer Professionals
ASTP Association of Science and Technology Professionals
AURIL Association of University Research and Industry Liaison
AUTM Association of University Technology Managers
EARMA European Association of Research Managers and Administrators
EuKTS European Knowledge Transfer Society
IACHEI International Association of Consultants in Higher Education & Industry
IKT Institute of Knowledge Transfer (started 2007)
KCA Knowledge Commercialisation Australasia
KTI Knowledge Transfer Ireland
LES Licensing Executives Society
NCUB National Centre for Universities and Business
NetVal Network Valorization
Praxis meaning practice, application of skills
PraxisUNICO
ProTon Europe I cannot find a reference to this; Professional …?
RedOTRI Red (Network) de Oficinas de Transferencia de Resultados de Investigación
RedTransfer Red (Network)
Réseau SATT Network of Sociétés d'Accélération du Transfert de Technologies
RTTP Registered Technology Transfer Professional
SARIMA South Africa Research and Innovation Management Association
STEM Society for Technology Management
SUPA Society of University Administrators
SWITT Swiss Technology Transfer Association
SNITTS Swedish Network for Innovation and Technology Transfer Support
TechnologieAllianz – Germany
UDIL University Directors of Industry Liaison
UIIN University Industry Innovation Network
UNICO University Companies
UNITT University Network for Innovation and Technology Transfer, Japan
USIMP Üniversite Sanayi İşbirliği Merkezleri Platformu.
They all have their stories of founders, heroic first meetings; they each have governance arrangements, membership being institutional or personal, with elaborate constitutions for electing new presidents and committee members etc.
They are all great social networks. All these networks know how to give a good party, dinner, reception etc. Some have a band, and one has an organisation song. They mostly have great websites and e-mail, chat groups. One had a meeting in a Disney resort, which I never thought felt quite right, there’s nothing Mickey Mouse about technology transfer after all. One has regular meetings on the Mediterranean coast; now that is a good idea. None has an affiliated credit card or loyalty points programme; but you never know.
Mainly they exist to share experiences, develop expertise, provide the mutual support of a self-help group, and provide a link between youth and experience (‘if youth knew, if age could’ as the saying goes). They help the activity develop; they help the profession develop.
Please do let me know of university technology transfer membership associations and organisations not mentioned above. There must be a few …
Tom Hockaday
Technology Transfer Innovation
Founder: SETUP *
[* SETUP Self-Employed Technology University Professionals. Founded in 2017 this network is a figment of the author’s imagination; unless … you never know ….?]