Transcript THE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER FUNCTION: A CHALENGE …

THE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
FUNCTION: A CHALENGE FOR
BULGARIAN UNIVERSITIES
Lilyana Pavlova, Ludmila Ivancheva
Center for Science Studies and History of Science,
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
The technology transfer – a definition:
An intermediary activity, related to
organization and management of the
selection, adapting, and transfer of
products of applied research, new
technologies, and applied scientific
knowledge in general, from research
institutions or universities to the business
and industry enterprises.
The technology transfer could be
performed by:
direct university-industry collaboration
operating with patents and licenses
creating spin-off companies
The technology transfer is a significant
component of the national innovation
systems (in functional and structural
aspect).
It needs to be strengthened by creating
new TT institutions, concentrating
resources and competences in order these
activities to be improved and intensified.
 According to some surveys, TT infrastructure of
Bulgarian universities is poorly developed,
although we indicate some progress in the last
years.
 Enhancing the process of institutionalization and
extending the TT activities is of crucial
importance.
 At the same time it is a real challenge for our
university system.
 Abreast of the governmental support, more
“bottom-up” initiatives should be put forward in
this respect.
 In 2006, while 95,8% of 25 inspected universities
had research laboratories, only 29.2% of them
were equipped with some TT units or innovation
offices.
 Implementing the measures of the National
Innovation strategy, during last two years an
important structural transformation happened (in
a lot of cases – with a financial assistance of
PHARE Program – Bulgaria).
They were built Centers for
entrepreneurship or TT offices at:
Russe University “Angel Kanchev”
Technical University – Varna
Technical University of Gabrovo
Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”
South-West University of Blagoevgrad
They were built Centers for
entrepreneurship or TT offices at:
Veliko Tarnovo University “Cyril and
Metodij”
University of Forestry Engineering – Sofia
Technical University – Sofia, Plovdiv
subsidiary
Nicola Vaptsarov Naval Academy – Varna
Burgas University “Prof. Dr. Asen Zlatarov”
Agricultural University – Plovdiv
Types of academia-industry/business collaboration
(survey based on 25 universities and research institutions)
Consultations
17%
Training, seminars, conferences
13%
Organization of student, doctoral, etc.
research practices
11%
Assisting the management of business
processes
8%
Studies of the effectiveness of
technologies/ products/services
7%
Creation of new technologies
6%
Results attained by academiaindustry/business collaboration
Gaining new experience
20,9%
Making contacts with foreign
organizations with similar activities
16,1%
Development of new research fields
15,7%
Initiating of new university subjects, postgraduate qualifications and courses
Getting more information about the
innovation needs of companies
13,4%
Getting actual economic information
11,8%
Receiving of additional funding
9,3%
12,7%
An example of a new built TTO:
Technology Transfer Office to Russe
University “Angel Kanchev”
 The project is implemented with financial
support of the European Union (PHARE 2005
Programme – Project BG 2005/017-353.10.06).
The total amount of the project grant is €
41 510.
 The TTO is opened on April 17, 2008.
Main activities and services:
Marketing investigations for finding new
business partners among representatives
of SME
Establishment of direct contacts with SME
Offering of innovative products ready for
setting in production
Seminars, workshops
Evaluation of the needs of the companies
concerning innovations
Main activities and services:
Identification of new business projects and
research outcomes with commercial
potential
Research and evaluation of the market
potential
Building of stable connections between
inventors and their partners
Creation and support of relevant
databases
Regarding their TT function, the
universities can profit by more active
collaboration with external institutions,
specialized in providing of technology
transfer services, such as GIS Foundation,
European Innovation Center – Bulgaria,
High-technology business incubators, etc.
Some appropriate activities of GIS
Foundation:
Building of transfer centers on concrete
research and technology problems and
innovative competitive products
Identification of interesting results of
applied research and assisting of their
commercial realization
Some appropriate activities of GIS
Foundation:
Consulting and expert assistance in the
field of innovations and technology
transfer
Investigations and analyses of the
innovation needs of SME
Performing of international technology
transfer
European Innovation Center – Bulgaria
It belongs to a network of 72 similar
structures in Europe. EIC works as an
intermediary in the transfer of technologies
and innovation between Bulgarian
institutions and companies and their
possible partners from EU countries, as
well as from Island, Israel, Norway and
Switzerland.
Some appropriate activities of European
Innovation Center – Bulgaria:
 Automatic Matching Tool: this means targeted
electronic dissemination of offers and
applications for modern technologies, and of
information about forthcoming business activities
(days for cooperation, industry fairs,
conferences, meetings, etc.)
 Sector meetings for representatives of
enterprises from same branches and experts
from research institution and universities, where
they discuss actual problems of TT
High-technology business incubator –
Varna
It aims at creating of a proper innovative
environment for development of SME in
the field of high technologies.
HTBI –Varna is an example of “best
practice” in technology transfer and
innovations.
It integrates the efforts of:
regional authorities
research sphere
NGOs
business representatives from the region.
SUMMURIESED FINDINGS
 For last two years we have indicated a process of
gradually building up of the missing before “cells” of the
national innovation system – TT offices, which are its
most important intermediary component.
 However, the creation of new innovation products and
technologies is still underrated by Bulgarian scientific
organizations and universities compared to activities as
research and education.
 The applied research projects, attained industry
realization and commercialization, are a little part only.
 But all academic institutions (and not only in Bulgaria)
have nowadays an additional mission – to raise the
competitiveness of the economy; therefore, the
developing of the TT function becomes a significant
challenge for the whole academic society.
SUMMURIESED FINDINGS
 Most of the companies have not an advanced
innovation policy and fixed plans for investments in
knowledge and new technologies.
 On this stage, the main academic contacts with the
business and industry are related to consulting and
education.
 The universities use on a large scale modern information
technologies, providing a wide range of dissemination of
the information about their products.
 Well developed is the practice to present the new
products and technologies at specialized markets and
fairs – more than a half of the universities use this forms
of presentations.
CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
 The effective functioning of today’s universities as an
important elements of the national innovation system
requires activation of the TT and commercialization of
the research outcomes.
 The technology transfer activities at the universities need
to be institutionalized and to follow a flexible and
adaptive towards the changing environment innovation
strategy.
 In this respect, a good idea is to be established two
types of units: centers dealing with the industry property
rights, and offices, engaged in the real TT activities.
 The TT offices are the most important part of the
intermediaries in the innovation process, and therefore
they need special attention.
CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
 The efforts should be directed to identification of
more potential users of research products,
technologies and services, and to establishment
of intensive long-term relations with them.
 Participating in the existing and initiating of new
innovation clusters and networks at national and
international level could be very beneficial.
 The TT function can be further developed,
diversifying the forms of popularization of new
products and technologies – “one step shops”,
information campaigns, “open doors”, etc.
CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
 The entrepreneurial culture of the researchers
and students should be raised by appropriate
entrepreneurship training.
 The spin-off companies are very perspective
form of commercialization of knowledge and
technologies, and their establishment must be
stimulated.
 On national (policy) level, efficient measures
must be taken to provoke the SMEs to be more
innovative and to look more actively for new
research products and technologies.
Thank you for your attention!
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