Harmonization and Simplification Roles of Technology Transfer Offices for Effective University – Industry Collaboration Models

Abstract

There are different kinds of knowledge transfer methodologies that have been used between university and industry such as publications, training, contracted research, collaborative research, Intellectual Property (IP) licensing, academic spin-offs etc. Although academia and business world have different perspectives from training purposes and publicly available data sharing to commercial concerns such as trade secrets, profitability and competitiveness; there is indispensable cooperation environment between both sides. Policy instruments, on the other hand, are also have different perspectives for research, trade, profit or not-profit organization establishment and/or management, product approval by sector specific government bodies etc. University – Industry Collaboration contracts shall conform to these policy instruments in terms of technical requirements, financial requirements, roles and responsibility share between partners as well as liabilities. Common recognition for transferring best practices of university – industry collaboration models may be possible, but should have been re-structured so as to conform the regulatory tools and strategic roadmaps as wells as socio-economic concerns of both sides in different regions. Interface organizations such as Technology Transfer Offices’ (TTO) have a key role to provide structural link between these parties and appropriate collaboration models for their specific needs as well as simplified tools for all possible collaboration models. In this paper we analyzed the components of university – industry collaboration models which can be simplified from the point of TTO roles and responsibilities. Harmonization and simplification possibilities for university-industry collaboration in terms knowledge transfer channels, strategic roadmaps, socio-economic impact factors and regulatory instruments will be analyzed from the point of Technology Transfer Office as the interface organization between both parties.