With a growing desire to boost technology transfer efforts in Connecticut, lawmakers are considering several bills that aim to encourage the commercialization of dormant research or technology sitting on the shelves of universities and corporations.
The measures include creating an Intellectual Property Factory that would fund university-mentored student teams that work to commercialize research and technology held, but ignored by Connecticut-based companies.
Lawmakers are also proposing a 16-member Higher Education Technology Transfer Policy Board that would be tasked with developing a more unified approach to tech transfer in Connecticut by examining and implementing industry best practices.
The end goal is to have companies and schools — particularly Yale and the University of Connecticut — commercialize more of their research. That means taking ideas out of the lab and turning them into marketable products, services or new companies that plant their roots in Connecticut and help reverse the state’s dismal track record of job creation.
“There are a lot of ideas developed in both state universities and private industry that have economic potential, but they are literally put on the shelf,” said state Sen. Gary LeBeau, co-chair of the commerce committee, where both proposals recently were approved. “The ideas or technology aren’t exploited because it’s not related to the core business of a certain company, or because the university doesn’t have the time, energy or inclination to turn it into a commercial opportunity. We need to change that.”
Universities have always been major sources of science and technology innovation, but there is increasing pressure to turn ideas into practical uses that create new businesses and jobs. LeBeau said he believes Connecticut is behind the curve in its tech transfer efforts.
In Connecticut, Yale University and its Science Park is the benchmark.
And taxpayers have funneled billions of dollars into UConn over the years to raise that school’s profile as a research university. But UConn is still in the early stages of trying to become a major player in the tech transfer game.
In 2009, UConn listed $151 million in research expenditures, which led to 86 inventions disclosures, and 15 U.S. patents. There were also 14 licenses and options executed, which brought in $749,365 in license income, according to data provided by the Association of University Technology Managers.
Advocates would like to see other schools across the state get involved as well.
The proposed 16-member board would help determine how university-based research affects the economy and develop policies and programs to support it.
The board would also work to develop plans for negotiating joint business-university research partnerships. The board’s members would include state officials, gubernatorial and legislative appointees representing technology firms, and faculty and staff from public and private universities engaged in technology transfer.
The Intellectual Property Factory creates a new twist in traditional tech transfer by focusing on private corporations instead of colleges. Universities, however, do play a central role in the effort.
Bruce Carlson, who is a former chief of staff at the UConn Health Center and a key architect of UConn’s current tech transfer operations, is the man behind the IP Factory idea. It’s an initiative that he believes can move forward operationally right away.
Carlson said the idea is to create a not-for-profit organization that would use teams of university students to review dormant technologies held by private companies.
Corporations would pay the cost of reviewing the technology. If it is determined the technology has commercial potential, student teams create a commercialization plan and form a new start-up. The company that developed the technology would license it to the newly created start-up so it can collect royalties and/or potentially become an investor in the newly formed company. There could be instances where the technology is simply licensed to an existing company as well, Carlson said.
University students would collaborate with professors as well as researchers at the company.
Carlson said he has spoken to a number of corporations in Connecticut who have shown interest in the idea.
The goal would be to involve major players like United Technologies Corp., which employs thousands of engineers and has plenty of ideas and technology sitting on the shelves.
Because of the economic downturn, many companies have cut back on research and development, so ideas or technologies not related to a company’s core business are increasingly being ignored.
“Many companies in Connecticut have intellectual property that they think has commercial potential but they haven’t explored it,” Carlson said.
He said the program should focus on technology that can be commercialized in short order, so research in advanced manufacturing, clean energy, IT software, and medical devices should take precedent over bio or life science.
The IP Factory bill authorizes $3 million in bonds for the program.
John Hanson, director of UConn’sTech-Knowledge Portal, said any program that attempts to establish closer relationships between industry and the university is a good thing.
“I think there could be greater interaction and support,” Hanson said. “A lot of times companies don’t think about us or reach out to us.”
