The Role of Technology Transfer Offices in Innovation
By Joy Eakin
Being a University innovator can often be challenging and daunting. Luckily, almost all universities provide a hidden ally: Technology Transfer Offices (TTO). Technology Transfer Offices are essential players in the journey from university research to market-ready innovations. For those in programs like I-Corps, partnering with a TTO can be pivotal in building a support network, protecting intellectual property, and navigating legal complexities in the innovation process. Let’s examine the crucial role TTOs play in fostering innovation and how they can be instrumental to your success.
What exactly is a Technology Transfer Office?
Most research universities provide support to researchers and innovators through a TTO. The professionals working in these TTOs often have expertise in STEM, legal, or business fields. Their responsibilities include assessing university research innovations for patentability and other intellectual property (IP) protection potential, as well as the possibility of commercializing those innovations.
The ultimate goal of a TTO is to move the products and services that come from university research out to the marketplace where more individuals can access the impact of these valuable innovations.
Some TTOs can help support you in the formation of your startup company. They can also facilitate introductions and support for incubators, accelerators, and venture capitalists to help you transform your early-stage innovation into a viable business.
How does working with a TTO fit in with your I-Corps program?
TTOs are excited about both societal and economic impact and will want to talk with you about the work you’re doing and how they can help you assess it, protect it, and move it along the innovation pipeline.
If you’re participating in an I-Corps program, that likely means you already have an idea for a solution that could help someone solve a problem. That’s great! Now you need to start building your support network and exploring your innovation ecosystem further. Talking with your TTO is just one of these conversations you can have that may open up new doors for you. In addition to helping you assess if you have protectable IP, the TTO can also help you with licensing agreements, non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), material transfer agreements (MTAs), industry partnerships, and other contracts you may need to navigate as you bring your innovation to market.
If you choose to move forward with your I-Corps project, investors will be impressed if you have protected your IP early on and have no legal risks for them to worry about. Some advanced programs, such as the National NSF I-Corps, require teams to have University-owned IP, thus making your TTO an essential partner for that program.
Depending on your journey, you may not necessarily need all the services of your university’s TTO. However, making yourself aware of what services they offer is a great first step in recognizing the resources available to you in your ecosystem, and can help you transform your research into impact.
About the Author:
Joy Eakin works at NUtech Ventures, the technology transfer office at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she is also the lead instructor of the Nebraska I-Corps program: Introduction to Customer Discovery. In her current role as Entrepreneurship Program Manager, she supports university innovators who want to start their own companies as they explore the training, resources, and skills needed to become successful founders.
