LINKAGE BETWEEN UNIVERSITY SCIENTIFIC AREAS AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES

Abstract

Purpose: This paper aims to establish a methodology that indicates economic activities able to absorb patents related to the main scientific areas of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS).
  
 Methodology: Two steps were important to development this methodology. The first one was to range the UFRGS patent according their degree of importance amongst the knowledge area. For this, the International Patent Classification (IPC) was the reference to organizer the patents. The second one was indicated the industries which have more potential to absorb the UFRGS patents. For this, it was used the Algorithmic Links with Probabilities approach, developed by Lybbert and Zolas (2014).
  
 Findings: It was found that 59% of UFRGS’ patents were allocated in just ten IPC subclasses, and at least 63% of these patents refer to technological inventions in the chemistry field. The technological core of UFRGS’ patents, therefore, lies in chemical science. This demonstrates that UFRGS’ patents focus on specific and specialist areas, and that they have significant potential for being absorbed by those economic activities whose products are drugs, therapeutic treatment, beverages, vaccines and insecticides.
  
 Practical Implications: This study may help the universities select both patents and priority industries in order to transfer their technology.
  
 Originality: It is constructed an original methodology which contribute to find a market to the university innovation. Furthermore, the developed methodology can be replicated in any other TICs which have patents.