University incubation hubs, technology transfer for the public benefit

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Aleck Ncube, Intellectual Property
THE mission of higher educational institutions in Zimbabwe is to create knowledge through the three pillars namely education, research, and community development.

There is a strong inter-linkage among the three pillars. The primary mission and purpose of Incubation Hubs is to add value to the public and society by facilitating the transfer of ideas, innovation, and research results from universities and research organisations to companies (start upor established). The development and marketing of new products and services leads to job creation and economic growth, both benefiting the public.

The Bayh-Dole Act of the United States (1980) is widely recognised as a major amendment in federal policy towards utilisation of the results of academic research. American universities that contribute to the growth of US industry by serving as a source of knowledge can now own patents that arise from federally funded research. This promoted the transfer of academic innovations to industry through licensing and new venture formation.

Professional business organisations and associations should make it a priority to identify areas that inhibit technology transfer and provide leadership in bringing about changes. The fundamental nature of technology transfer is for the Incubation Hub’s personnel to identify within a university, technologies that can be commercialised. Incubation Hubs must develop the resources to identify potential innovations that can impact the society in which they operate.

In my opinion, there are three areas that lead to success in the technology transfer matrix. They are:

1. A pipeline of innovations (usually research results with commercial potential) in a culture/environment that supports disclosure of inventions and with incentives that will encourage inventors to support and participate in the commercialisation process.

2. An efficient, effective, and responsive process for
Evaluating invention disclosures to determine if they should be pursued; developing an Intellectual Property strategy; developing a marketing strategy to find potential licensees or entrepreneurs to start companies; efficient and timely negotiation of agreements; effective monitoring of diligenceterms of agreements and an efficient process for making amendments if needed.

3. Patience — Experience teaches us that about 1 in 100 of inventions selected for investment (IP costs andtime/energy of commercialisation office people) generates significant income. Thus one must recognise short-term income returns are very unlikely and there must be continuous support to invest in a portfolio of technologies with the potential for commercialisation.

It is good for researchers to reveal important research results as quickly and as broadly as possible as this enhances the reputations of the researchers and the universities and other research organisations they represent. But it is also good that if such research results can be the basis for newproducts or services, that patenting be possible to encourage such product development to create jobs and help the economy. Inventors can take advantage of the provisional patent system in Zimbabwe.

This is a quick and inexpensive way of establishing patent priority (must be converted into a proper patent application within one year). This is a very useful approach and tool to use by academics when developing an intellectual property strategy for a given invention. University developed technologies are transferred primarily through patents and licences, publications and conferences, collaborations between universities and companies, and university start-ups.

Patenting and licensing are new types of commercial activities for Zimbabwean universities. The Government of Zimbabwe has designated six universities for the setting up of Incubation Hubs. The universities are encouraged to work on commercialisation of their research results to spur a knowledge driven economy. University education provides students with the latest and updated knowledge so that they become the cadres for knowledge development.

University research further facilitates the application of the newly developed knowledge and contributes to the scientific community in terms of quality publications and contributes to the country’s prosperity, for example, through patents, royalties, intellectual properties. Community development increases the relevance of university education and research with the needs of the stakeholders and contributes directly to the development of Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) through technology transfer.

There are various research awards related to the promotion of technology transfer such as the annual Research Council of Zimbabwe Awards for outstanding researchers. Universities are encouraged to establish technology holding companies in order to maximise financial returns from technology commercialisation based on their R&D results.

The holding companies can manage the technology commercialisation of the university’s research efficiently by controlling corresponding subsidiaries. Stronger university-industry collaboration enhances technology transfer and talent pool development. The Government is encouraging the universities to take an active part in entrepreneurial activities besides teaching and research. It is expected that the universities will effectively commercialise their inventions through spin-offs, start-ups and patent licensing.

National policies and Government guidelines have encouraged universities in other parts of the developing world to transfer and commercialise knowledge on their own. The intellectual property infrastructure build-up, patenting and licensing activities at the universities of these nations have flourished. South Korea, Taiwan and Malaysia have implemented legislation that is similar to the Bayh-Dole Act and have well defined policies for intellectual property ownership. Zimbabwe can learn and implement Best Practices from these Asian countries.

The major barriers to technology commercialisation are conflicting organisational objectives and lack of awareness of commercial potential. To encourage transfer and commercialisation of university knowledge, government and university administrators need to provide more incentives and support for academic entrepreneurs. More long-term and joint capacity development of university industry partnerships would be beneficial for Zimbabwe. There is need for governmental support for academic-industry research projects.

Incubation Hubs at universities provide models of ownership and a framework of benefit sharing mechanisms for universities and other public research organisations. Possible mechanisms for technology transfer of research may be consultancy services, outright sale of technologies, licensing of technologies, joint-ventures and start-up ventures. Stimulating collaborations between universities and industry, transfer and commercialisation of university-born inventions is the key step for sustainable economic development of Zimbabwe.

 Aleck Ncube is an Intellectual Property scholar based in Bulawayo. He can be contacted on Mobile: +263712374408 Skype: Matintas1 Twitter: @aleckncube Alternative E-mail: [email protected]

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