What defines Technology Transfer?
25. 10. 2018
What defines Technology Transfer and who can be called a Technology Transfer Officer? Should such offices exist only at Universities, or should Technology/Science parks be involved in the process?
It was those questions and many more that participants of the 1st international course for TTOs tried to answer at the training, held in Istanbul, Turkey in October, organized by Tübitak Market Technology Park, the Lead Partner of the Erasmus+ plus project International Technology Transfer Academy or ITTA in short.
A 5-day training course attended by project partners and their invited guests (Teja Stamać from University of Ljubljana & Tina Mesarič from University of Maribor joined TPLj) addressed the main topics of the Technology Transfer process:
- Branding & Marketing
- Spin-out & Spin-off
- Commercialization
- Connecting research with business
The workshop included many renowned Turkish experts with international experience and was based mostly on a hands-on approach of working in teams and solving real-life cases, brought on by participants themselves or the lecturers. The participants thus worked on the case of Sofia Technology Park, TT office of University of Maribor, Commercialization of an emerging technology and many more.
The underlaying basis for each case was to bear in mind, as Yaviz Selim Silay, MD, MDA said: “You are venture architects and your job is to re-orient scientist so that they generate science that could be used in at least one stage of the product development. Science for the sake of science is beautiful, but not useful.”
Or as Mehmet Arik, PhD, the so-called “Turkish Edison” with 10+ years of experience in engineering at GE emphasized: “You have to help grow the CANdo and stimulate innovative THINKing through TEAMwork. Remember, it is OK to FAIL, but in the end, you want to change the world.”
At the end of the training, participants were asked to present those skills that a TTO should posses. Innovative presentations in form of posters, real-to-size paper sculptures and other mediums revealed that a successful TT officer, should definitely be Supportive, Proactive, Assertive, Reliable, Knowledgeable, Lobbying, Inspiring, Networking, Guiding – SPARKLING.
Urška Rauter, Healthcare and Clinical Research Projects
Technology Park Ljubljana