Calling all technology transfer professionals! Whether you use social media in your work or not, this survey is for you. Longtime readers of Fuentek’s blog may remember that 2 years ago we invited the tech transfer industry to complete a survey about current/planned use for social media. The results of that survey showed that many respondents had started (or planned) to use LinkedIn®, Twitter®, and to a lesser extent Facebook® and blogging to build their brand, market technologies, and build community. Well, 2 years is an eternity on the Internet. And since I’m participating in a panel called “Social Media Unplugged: Is It Worth the Hype?” at the annual meeting of the Association of University Technology Managers® (AUTM®) in San Antonio, Texas, later this month, it’s time to revisit the question:… Continue reading →
Despite the beautiful weather we’ve been enjoying here in North Carolina the last few weeks, I have frequently found myself online reading interesting posts about technology transfer. So here’s what I’ve been reading. How about you? Send me a private message or post a comment below. 
Reprinted from AUTM Newsbrief. 
Last week I had the great opportunity to participate in a social media panel at the 2013 meeting of the Association of University Technology Managers®. My fellow panelists and I were thrilled to have a large audience with very engaged participants. I’d like to share a few of the themes that I found to resonate most strongly with our audience, based on both their questions and their facial expressions! 
Well, we made it through the first half of the AUTM® annual meeting. It’s been a great conference so far, and I expect the next two days to be likewise. It’s a little bittersweet for me, as this meeting marks the end of my tenure as VP of Strategic Alliances. I am grateful for the many people who contributed to all that’s been accomplished in the past two years, particularly the successful development and launch of AUTM’s Global Technology Portal. Speaking of the GTP,… 
Several Fuentekians are getting ready to head to San Antonio, Texas, for the 2013 meeting of the Association of University Technology Managers®. If you’re going too, we hope you’ll take one of several opportunities to connect with us while you’re there. First off, our booth is #412. Be sure to drop off your business card when you stop by — we’re having a drawing to give away a tablet computer loaded up with our webinars and white papers. We’ll also be tweeting using the #AUTM2013 hashtag. You can follow our tweets on @fuentek, @NannetteSC, and @mccullochdd. We are also participating in several sessions…. 
Just before Christmas, I had the privilege of attending the annual conference of the University Technology Enterprise Network (UTEN), an organization dedicated to (in their words) “professionalizing and advancing science and technology commercialization in Portugal.” As the AUTM® vice president for Strategic Alliances, I was invited to participate on a panel discussing technology transfer networks. I have to say, it was an enlightening meeting, and the lessons learned and best practices shared have value beyond Portugal. So brace yourself: this is a long post, but there was lots of good information to share! 
Not too long ago, a Forbes post from UCLA’s John Villasenor entitled “Intellectual Property Awareness at Universities: Why Ignorance Is Not Bliss” caught my eye. It discussed the importance of teaching the next generation of engineers, scientists, and innovators “what IP is and why it matters.” Having conducted an informal survey of engineering grad students, Villasensor discovered that their understanding of IP was woefully lacking. He rightfully raised the question:… 