Through an on-going relationship with Cambridge Enterprise (CE), PraxisUnico was asked to deliver a 3-day training programme for a group of 11 Colombian Innovation Managers as part of a 3 week visit to Cambridge, managed by Brian Corbett (Cambridge Enterprise). The 11 delegates included a representative from the office of the Colombian President.
The visit formed part of an overall programme of engagement with CE, supported and funded by the Colombian Embassy and Innpulsa. The aims of the training were to enable delegates to gain an in depth understanding of the range of TT processes and to gain an appreciation of UK and international TT and consider how to apply this in the Colombian context.
The Directors of PraxisUnico, together with the PraxisUnico instructors who delivered the training in Cambridge, were pleased with the success of this training event. Some of the comments made by delegates were “Thank you so much! This has been a great experience” and “Excellent. I am so glad about PraxisUnico people”.
The delegates engaged fully in the course which helped them address some of the challenges that they face in commercialising new opportunities within their institutions.
The training programme was highly interactive with a mix of taught, group work on case studies and discussion. A lot was covered; however eight of the delegates would have preferred a longer course.
The instructors were pleased with the interactive nature of the event and enjoyed working with such a receptive and engaging group of delegates. It is clear from the delegate feedback (scoring 4.5 out of 5) that the PraxisUnico training improved delegates’ awareness about the significance of technology transfer.
Delegates’ stated aims in attending the course were to improve knowledge and skills in technology transfer, learn tools in the TT processand also to concentrate on certain elements of the training, such as Valuation. At the end of the course, all of the respondents in the feedback said that their objectives were fully met.
In addition to their personal development, respondents said that initiatives like this course helped to bring Colombia and the UK together to work on technology transfer. And, as a result of the course, delegates agreed that the UK has a creative approach to addressing technology transfer issues.
Delegates commented that the hands on case studies and exercises were highly useful and found the sessions on creating a TTO, valuation, royalties and negotiation particularly interesting and valuable.