Common Themes in Stimulating Commercial Innovation

Common Themes in Stimulating Commercial Innovation

I had the pleasure to recently co-host an Innovation Roundtable on ‘Managing Corporate Innovation Across Sites’ with Wellspring Worldwide. Attended by a diverse cross-section of innovation leaders from industries including finance, high tech, and manufacturing, this interactive forum provided a unique opportunity to exchange best practices, ideas, and challenges in driving innovation.
Including Commercialization in Tenure and Promotion Decisions: A Poll

Including Commercialization in Tenure and Promotion Decisions: A Poll

As research universities are placing an increased emphasis on economic development, we agree that it’s entirely appropriate—even essential—that faculty advancement decisions include activities in tech transfer, innovation, and entrepreneurship, just as they include published research papers in these decisions. We are excited to delve into this topic at a session we’re moderating this fall at AUTM’s Eastern Region Meeting in Raleigh, NC.
University-Industry Engagement Outside Major Metro Areas: Workshop Insights

University-Industry Engagement Outside Major Metro Areas: Workshop Insights

What do Stanford, Univ. Alabama, Arizona State, and Univ. Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have in common? They’re all in non-metropolitan areas. And that’s the focus of the conference I presented at this week. Hosted by UIDP and the University of Arkansas, this university-industry engagement workshop brought together a diverse collection of higher education institutions from outside major metropolitan areas. These universities face common as well as unique challenges.
Advice for Running an Effective Gap Funding Program

Advice for Running an Effective Gap Funding Program

I was recently chatting with folks in the technology transfer office (TTO) at the University of Vermont (UVM). They asked Fuentek to help again this year with evaluating proposals for the SPARK-VT gap funding program. SPARK-VT is designed “to address the challenges of translating novel research into the community” by funding additional research and commercialization. Last year, Fuentek was asked to help evaluate proposals.
Managing Intellectual Property Proactively, Efficiently, and Effectively

Managing Intellectual Property Proactively, Efficiently, and Effectively

Managing IP proactively is essential for any R&D organization, regardless of whether it’s a university, private company, government lab, hospital, or not-for-profit research organization. Being proactive helps you focus on achieving your goals rather than reactively putting out fires, and it enables more efficient and effective operations. To make your TTO or other IP operation more proactive, consider the following recommendations and guidance.