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University technology transfer could boost economy

13 April 2005

Universities have an important role to play in the 21st century 'knowledge economy' but will succeed only with a culture that fosters the transfer of research from the laboratory to the marketplace. This is the message of two leading US technology transfer experts visiting Monash this week.

Technology transfer experts: Mr Mark Crowell (left) with Mr Mark Coticchia.

Mr Mark Coticchia, vice-president for research and technology management at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and Mr Mark Crowell, associate vice-chancellor for economic development and director of the Office of Technology Development of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, are guests of the Monash North America Steering Group.

They have delivered a series of presentations to senior university and CSIRO staff on universities as economic drivers, funding the gap between discovery and innovation and conflict of interest issues.

Mr Crowell, who is also president of the US Association of University Technology Managers, said the commercialisation of university research was increasingly important to countries' economic success.

More than 200 US universities are currently involved in technology transfer. Academic technology transfer has also added more than US$40 billion to the US economy.

"The distinct contributions of research universities in generating discoveries, inventions and innovations suggest an increasingly important role for university researchers in the 21st century knowledge economy," Mr Crowell said.

But for technology to be developed out of universities, they required expertise in technology assessment, protection, market analysis and business development, he said.

Mr Coticchia said many organisations were not good at commercialising research because they did not have enough of this kind of expertise.

"Tech transfer happens many ways. Graduated students, publications, seminars, education and training are all ways to get research results out into society," he said.

"But when we talk about tech transfer, we're really focusing on the commercial aspects of it, the licensing, the spin-off companies.

"The best way for that to happen in practice is for a tech transfer person -- typically a business person who can bridge the gap between the technical and business sides -- to sit down and work with faculty members to identify ways to get research adopted into society by using commercial means," Mr Coticchia said.