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THE ROLE OF THE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OFFICE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MILAN:
disseminating IP culture and organizing training program for researchers
by Roberto Tiezzi
UNIMITT- Tech Transfer Manager
• What we are and what we think
• Technology transfer at the University of Milan
• The importance of IP culture … and the issues..
• The training program of the project U.N.I.V.E.R.S.I.T.A.S.
• What we are and what we think
te
An outline of UNIMITT
UNIMITT is the Centre for Innovation and Technology Transfer of the State University of Milan
recently estasblished in order to support the exploitation of academic results
mainly in terms of IPRs and spin off companies
UNIMI patent portfolio
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PORTAFOGLIO BREVETTI
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’01’00’99’97 ’98 ’04’02 ’05’03
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Inventions by sector(1 Clinic/Pharma, 2 Chem/Industry, 3 Biotech, 4 Medical tools, 5
Veterinary, 6 Diagnostic, 7 Other)
42%
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8,50%7%6%2,50%
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Spin-off and technology transfer initiatives
12 companies created in the last 3 years
A relevant intervention of external investors occurred in two cases (Nanotech materials and biotech and pharma) during the current year
Unimitt has been involved in open calls and tenders by co-ordinating ILO and TTO and external actors (Chamber of Commerce, Local Authorities, Companies, Science parks, etc.).
The UNIMITT functions
The UNIMITT model integrates the following three functions:
• technology transfer office
• industrial liaison office
• science policy centre
The Tech Transfer Office function
UNIMITT supports the process of research results exploitation, helping to:
• identify and evaluate IP and specific technologies
• file patent applications and manage the patent portfolio
• generate spin-off companies
• do technology marketing and licensing with industry
The Industrial Liaison Office function
UNIMITT aims at multiplying relationships with industry, institutional and private investors, public institutions, in order to create opportunities for collaborative research projects and tech transfer businesses:
• participation in partnership projects with Universities, Incubators, BIC to disseminate the innovation culture
• networking events organization and activities promotion
The Science Policy Centre function
UNIMITT intends to provide technical support to scientific and academic bodies to elaborate new policies and regulations, with the aim of:
• increasing scientific productivity
• highering the research quality
• supporting economic growth of external enviroment
Towards an “Entrepreneurial University”
• The University is an economic as well as a cultural actor. New functions covered: not only education, culture teaching and research but, furthermore, explicit contribution to local development and direct promotion of knowledge;
• New links and interactions demand/supply: new sources, increasing speed and time to market, less steps, more complexity and systemic approach, new attention to users.
Towards an ”Entrepreneurial University”
Four channels:Four channels:
• Open diffusion of results: research as a public good > Publications;
• Attention to the potential economic exploitation > Patents;
• Temporary mobility of human resources > Human capital;
• Generation of new entrepreneurial ideas by means of spin-off processes > New science and technology based firms
• Technology transfer at the University of Milan
Why to do technology transfer
Different kinds of goals reflecting different priorities:
• public benefits
• research stimulation
• profit
Public benefits
A widespread policy in the italian universities underlines the importance of achieving public benefits, such as:
• benefit the society with innovations and technologies
• foster economic growth
• support job creation
More economic value…
The framework becomes more complex, if we intend to orient tech transfer process towards new goals and new opportunities, fostering public assets
Maybe, Italian Universities and researchers should put more efforts in seeking reward from tech transfer in terms of profit and new funds for research
A voluntary process
Tech tranfer in the italian university is almost always a voluntary process: the researchers autonomy doesn’t allow the institution to make them attend tech transfer activities
Researchers have to be aware of the opportunities that tech transfer offer to them
Still today, many researchers have to be stimulated
Tech transfer is fair
Tech tranfer should be pursued by researchers, because it means producing value and exploiting opportunities
When stimulated, researchers tend to consider tech transfer as fair
… but they often need knowledge and tools
• The importance of IP culture … and the issues..
The importance of IP culture
Why do we protect academic inventions ?
Because this…
• doesn’t prevent us to pursue our public service mission
• doesn’t have a harmful effect on basic research
• can attract funds for further research
• can be a way to disseminate innovations and technologies and foster technology based businesses
The role of IPRs in technology transfer
IP protection/exploitation is one of the most important and effective way to achieve the academic findings transfer:
• is more rewarding for Universities and researchers (without a patent is more difficult to give full value to the know how transfer)
• is helpfull in preventing conflicts of interest and public assets dismission
A good competition
Since tech transfer can contribute to regional economic development, companies and entrepreneurs in the market place should have equal opportunities
A common researcher definition
“I’m not interested in the money…
… I just want to do good science”
the answer:
Money is necessary for funding research…
..so we are interested in money !
IP culture
IP culture isn’t really widespread in academic enviroment yet
Many researchers:
• don’t have an appropriate knowledge about what a patent is and its potential
• don’t know what patentable is
• don’t know how to get a patent
Above all…
Many researchers:
• don’t know how to evaluate academic findings and inventions
• tend not to share the same objectives with the institution
… sometimes in negotiations they become the counterpart
• The training program of the project U.N.I.V.E.R.S.I.T.A.S.
U.N.I.V.E.R.S.I.T.A.S.
We cannot face the issues by our-selves:
• we are a very little organization: few people
• we don’t want to become only a service provider: we prefer to invest in researchers, to make them capable
U.N.I.V.E.R.S.I.T.A.S.
…so our vision is INTEGRATION in order to:
• be more effective
• specialize the process
• have the critical mass on which to operate
U.N.I.V.E.R.S.I.T.A.S.
This is the idea of U.N.I.V.E.R.S.I.T.A.S.:
• Milan University (coordinator)
• Politecnico (Milan)
• Bocconi University (Milan)
• University of Calabria (a region in the south of Italy)
join together to intregrate TTO and ILO functions and activities
U.N.I.V.E.R.S.I.T.A.S.
A big challenge (…the first open call for UNIMITT after the first 4 months): no experience like that before
A relevant impact: areas and objects involved
Integration of different know how, competencies, technological areas
U.N.I.V.E.R.S.I.T.A.S.
• 2 years of project
• € 600.000 of Government funding
• 3 ILO involved (30 people operating)
• 2 Academic Centres for business development (Bocconi)
• network model: our ambition is to determine the conditions to create an integrated ILO or agency
The U.N.I.V.E.R.S.I.T.A.S. training program
The crucial point of the entire project is
tech transfer culture dissemination and training for researchers and TT professionals
The U.N.I.V.E.R.S.I.T.A.S. training program
One of main project activity will be:
an IP training program for reserchears in 4 Universities focused on all the main topics of IP protection and exploitation:
• IP procedures
• Technology assessment and evaluation
• Marketing strategy
• Licensing valuation and strategy
The U.N.I.V.E.R.S.I.T.A.S. training program
At the end of september the first training session
THANK YOU FOR THE ATTENTION
Contacts
Alberto Silvani - UNIMITT DirectorVia Festa del Perdono 7 - 20122 Milano ITALYtel (+39) 02 50312862fax (+39) 02 50312861
Roberto Tiezzi – UNIMITT Tech Transfer ManagerVia Festa del Perdono 7 - 20122 Milano ITALYtel (+39) 02 50312083fax (+39) 02 50312861
