Press release - The TTO, a university engine transforming science in innovation
19 January 2012
Leuven, 19 January 2012. The League of European Research Universities (LERU) formulates ten critical success factors for an effective technology transfer office (TTO) operation.
Hoping it can help Europe to conquer the economic crisis and to secure Europe’s future position in the global economy, EU policy makers clearly aim for innovation. On different occasions the League of European Research Universities (LERU) has emphasized the particular role universities play in the innovation process. Crucial for that role are the universities’ technology transfer offices, whose functioning is investigated in LERU’s new advice paper The TTO, a university engine transforming science in innovation.
In a first part the paper focusses on the role and relevance of the TTO in academia. It presents a model of three stage development, from TTOs as isolated islands of technology transfer activity within the university (stage 1) to an inclusive TTO operation operating across the research, teaching and innovation dimensions of the knowledge triangle (stage 3). “It is clear”, says Koen Debackere, Executive Director of KU Leuven Research & Development and author of the paper, “that strong and unambiguous university leadership support is critical to the continuous growth and development of a professional TTO operation.”
In a second part of the paper the governance and organisation of the TTO are analysed. Governance aspects such as autonomy are crucial for the TTO to develop its activities successfully. Finally ten critical success factors (CSF) for an effective TTO operation are identified. They focus on the degree of autonomy of the TTO from the university and the mandate a TTO might need to operate in its region to build an effective spin-out operation, but also on the need for a supportive external environment. Other CSFs set out the incentives and code of conduct schemes TTOs can install for the academic community and give recommendations for TTO staff, the internal organisation of the office and the position of the TTO in the university.
“We very much hope that this paper will inspire university leaders that are in the process of fully developing a technology transfer office at their university”, says Kurt Deketelaere, Secretary-General of LERU. “In addition to that, the paper can help policy makers to understand better how they can support universities in the innovation process.”
LERU will present the paper at a launch event in Brussels on Monday 13 February 2012 and is looking forward to discussing it with you and other stakeholders.
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Notes for editors
This paper and all other LERU publications are freely available online at http://www.leru.org.
The League of European Research Universities (LERU) is as an association of leading research-intensive universities that share the values of high-quality teaching within an environment of internationally competitive research. Founded in 2002, LERU advocates education through an awareness of the frontiers of human understanding; the creation of new knowledge through basic research, which is the ultimate source of innovation in society; and the promotion of research across a broad front in partnership with industry and society at large.
For questions about the report or about LERU or to arrange an interview with a LERU representative in your country, contact Mrs. Laura Keustermans, Policy Officer, tel BE +32 16 32 99 69 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
The LERU universities are:
- Universiteit van Amsterdam
- Universitat de Barcelona
- University of Cambridge
- University of Edinburgh
- Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
- Université de Genève
- Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg
- Helsingin yliopisto (University of Helsinki)
- Universiteit Leiden
- Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
- Imperial College London
- University College London
- Lunds universitet
- Università degli Studi di Milano
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
- University of Oxford
- Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris 6
- Université Paris-Sud 11
- Université de Strasbourg
- Universiteit Utrecht
- Universität Zürich