Teaching IP management to engineers, scientists, entrepreneurs and managers

Abstract

In recent decades the commercialisation of findings originating from scientific research has become the ‘third mission’ at many European universities. University Knowledge & Technology Transfer Offices (KTOs) often provide services for tenured scientists to enable research commercialisation activities e.g. contract research, filing and licensing patents, incorporating spinoffs. In addition to the KTOs’ work, this chapter describes how IP lectures for students at various levels (BSc, MSc or PhD) contribute to research commercialisation capacity building and how they have become an integral part in the curriculum for students who fancy a career as scientist, manager or entrepreneur in a competitive, high-tech and innovative environment. Staff at the Netherlands Patent Office started an IP outreach program towards professors lecturing future engineers, scientists and managers thus enabling their students to learn the basics in IP management and use. In general, aligning societal needs with future impact of scientific research findings, IP documents from databases (e.g. Espacenet – patent search) will provide both a wide range of topical materials and a methodology for teachers to lecture their students how to appropriate and manage IP rights in courses on product and market development. Starting from a more theoretical framework why IPRs matter in routes of Technology Transfer, this chapter continues to focus on three concise lecturing IPR cases in different disciplines at three universities in the Netherlands, thus covering hands-on experiences from the last ten years. Throughout the cases three key messages A, B and C are highlighted.