TTO

This thought provoking talk contrasted US practices with what is done in the UK. Knowledge exchange is not captured as part of REF here so the value of what Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs) do is omitted from Impact studies. PraxisUnico is working to counter that by raising the profile of the excellent work KEC practitioners do and highlighting the role that they play, but visibility to University senior management is still an issue.

This was a great course - by half-way through, I'd almost reconsidered my chosen career in favour of jumping ship for technology transfer, thanks to the energy and enthusiasm of both delegates and trainers.

By the end, I had a new appreciation for the scope and complexity of the role. Phil Elstob, Course Director and Business Development Executive for Cancer Research Technology and Newcastle University co-ordinated a lively three days of discussion and learning.

If you are an academic trying to build a business from your ideas it can be pretty lonely, particularly when you are working with a hard pressed local tech transfer team who don’t have much time available to spend on each disclosure. Moving things forward quickly when no one has enough time or resource to really focus means that projects often have to develop incrementally and can consume a lot of sub-optimal effort with no guarantee of success.