THE ROLE OF THE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OFFICE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MILAN:

1. THE ROLE OF THE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OFFICE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MILAN: disseminating IP culture and organizing training program for researchers by Roberto Tiezzi UNIMITT- Tech Transfer Manager

2. What we are and what we think • Technology transfer at the University of Milan • The importance of IP culture … and the issues.. • The training program of the project U.N.I.V.E.R.S.I.T.A.S.

3. What we are and what we think

4. te An outline of UNIMITT UNIMITT is the Centre for Innovation and Technology Transfer of the State University of Milan recently estasblished in order to support the exploitation of academic results mainly in terms of IPRs and spin off companies

5. N. Cumulato ’97 ’98 ’99 ’00 ’01 ’02 ’03 ’04 ’05 UNIMI patent portfolio

6. Inventions by sector(1 Clinic/Pharma, 2 Chem/Industry, 3 Biotech, 4 Medical tools, 5 Veterinary, 6 Diagnostic, 7 Other)

7. Spin-off and technology transfer initiatives 12 companies created in the last 3 years A relevant intervention of external investors occurred in two cases (Nanotech materials and biotech and pharma) during the current year Unimitt has been involved in open calls and tenders by co-ordinating ILO and TTO and external actors (Chamber of Commerce, Local Authorities, Companies, Science parks, etc.).

8. The UNIMITT functions • The UNIMITT model integrates the following three functions: • technology transfer office • industrial liaison office • science policy centre

9. The Tech Transfer Office function • UNIMITT supports the process of research results exploitation, helping to: • identify and evaluate IP and specific technologies • file patent applications and manage the patent portfolio • generate spin-off companies • do technology marketing and licensing with industry

10. The Industrial Liaison Office function • UNIMITT aims at multiplying relationships with industry, institutional and private investors, public institutions, in order to create opportunities for collaborative research projects and tech transfer businesses: • participation in partnership projects with Universities, Incubators, BIC to disseminate the innovation culture • networking events organization and activities promotion

11. The Science Policy Centre function • UNIMITT intends to provide technical support to scientific and academic bodies to elaborate new policies and regulations, with the aim of: • increasing scientific productivity • highering the research quality • supporting economic growth of external enviroment

12. Towards an “Entrepreneurial University” • The University is an economic as well as a cultural actor. New functions covered: not only education, culture teaching and research but, furthermore, explicit contribution to local development and direct promotion of knowledge; • New links and interactions demand/supply: new sources, increasing speed and time to market, less steps, more complexity and systemic approach, new attention to users.

13. Towards an ”Entrepreneurial University” Four channels: • Open diffusion of results: research as a public good > Publications; • Attention to the potential economic exploitation > Patents; • Temporary mobility of human resources > Human capital; • Generation of new entrepreneurial ideas by means of spin-off processes > New science and technology based firms

14. Technology transfer at the University of Milan

15. Why to do technology transfer • Different kinds of goals reflecting different priorities: • public benefits • research stimulation • profit

16. Public benefits • A widespread policy in the italian universities underlines the importance of achieving public benefits, such as: • benefit the society with innovations and technologies • foster economic growth • support job creation

17. More economic value… The framework becomes more complex, if we intend to orient tech transfer process towards new goals and new opportunities, fostering public assets Maybe, Italian Universities and researchers should put more efforts in seeking reward from tech transfer in terms of profit and new funds for research

18. A voluntary process Tech tranfer in the italian university is almost always a voluntary process: the researchers autonomy doesn’t allow the institution to make them attend tech transfer activities Researchers have to be aware of the opportunities that tech transfer offer to them Still today, many researchers have to be stimulated

19. Tech transfer is fair Tech tranfer should be pursued by researchers, because it means producing value and exploiting opportunities When stimulated, researchers tend to consider tech transfer as fair … but they often need knowledge and tools

20. The importance of IP culture … and the issues..

21. The importance of IP culture • Why do we protect academic inventions ? • Because this… • doesn’t prevent us to pursue our public service mission • doesn’t have a harmful effect on basic research • can attract funds for further research • can be a way to disseminate innovations and technologies and foster technology based businesses

22. The role of IPRs in technology transfer • IP protection/exploitation is one of the most important and effective way to achieve the academic findings transfer: • is more rewarding for Universities and researchers (without a patent is more difficult to give full value to the know how transfer) • is helpfull in preventing conflicts of interest and public assets dismission

23. A good competition Since tech transfer can contribute to regional economic development, companies and entrepreneurs in the market place should have equal opportunities

24. A common researcher definition “I’m not interested in the money… … I just want to do good science” the answer: Money is necessary for funding research… ..so we are interested in money !

25. IP culture • IP culture isn’t really widespread in academic enviroment yet • Many researchers: • don’t have an appropriate knowledge about what a patent is and its potential • don’t know what patentable is • don’t know how to get a patent

26. Above all… • Many researchers: • don’t know how to evaluate academic findings and inventions • tend not to share the same objectives with the institution • … sometimes in negotiations they become the counterpart

27. The training program of the project U.N.I.V.E.R.S.I.T.A.S.

28. U.N.I.V.E.R.S.I.T.A.S. • We cannot face the issues by our-selves: • we are a very little organization: few people • we don’t want to become only a service provider: we prefer to invest in researchers, to make them capable

29. U.N.I.V.E.R.S.I.T.A.S. • …so our vision is INTEGRATION in order to: • be more effective • specialize the process • have the critical mass on which to operate

30. U.N.I.V.E.R.S.I.T.A.S. • This is the idea of U.N.I.V.E.R.S.I.T.A.S.: • Milan University (coordinator) • Politecnico (Milan) • Bocconi University (Milan) • University of Calabria (a region in the south of Italy) • join together to intregrate TTO and ILO functions and activities

31. U.N.I.V.E.R.S.I.T.A.S. A big challenge (…the first open call for UNIMITT after the first 4 months): no experience like that before A relevant impact: areas and objects involved Integration of different know how, competencies, technological areas

32. U.N.I.V.E.R.S.I.T.A.S. • 2 years of project • € 600.000 of Government funding • 3 ILO involved (30 people operating) • 2 Academic Centres for business development (Bocconi) • network model: our ambition is to determine the conditions to create an integrated ILO or agency

33. The U.N.I.V.E.R.S.I.T.A.S. training program The crucial point of the entire project is tech transfer culture dissemination and training for researchers and TT professionals

34. The U.N.I.V.E.R.S.I.T.A.S. training program • One of main project activity will be: • an IP training program for reserchears in 4 Universities focused on all the main topics of IP protection and exploitation: • IP procedures • Technology assessment and evaluation • Marketing strategy • Licensing valuation and strategy

35. The U.N.I.V.E.R.S.I.T.A.S. training program At the end of september the first training session

36. THANK YOU FOR THE ATTENTION

37. Contacts Alberto Silvani - UNIMITT Director Via Festa del Perdono 7 - 20122 Milano ITALY tel (+39) 02 50312862 fax (+39) 02 50312861 alberto.silvani@unimi.it Roberto Tiezzi – UNIMITT Tech Transfer Manager Via Festa del Perdono 7 - 20122 Milano ITALY tel (+39) 02 50312083 fax (+39) 02 50312861 roberto.tiezzi@unimi.it