March UTEN Workshop on University Spin-outs

In March, UTEN held a workshop on university spin-outs and models for venture creation featuring Brett Corn­well- Director of Commercialization Services for the Tex­as A&M University System, Professor of Technology Com­mercialization at the IC2 Institute at the University of Texas, and former Technology Commercialization Spe­cialist for NASA. Ana Paula Amorim- UTEN Liaison, Maria Jose Francisco- UTEN Portugal Program Manager, and Eli D. Mercer- UTEN Austin Program Manager for Training and Internships represented the UTEN Team. We would like to thank the 22 technology transfer professionals from across Portugal who attended the sessions (includ­ing licensing professionals, entrepreneurship advisors, and incubator managers) for an excellent exchange of ideas. The New University of Lisbon (UNL) graciously hosted the event. Our special thanks to UNL and espe­cially to Dina Chaves, UTEN Austin intern in 2009.

WORKSHOP AGENDA:

Day 1:

Morning- Brett introduced the “why do we exist and what are we trying to accomplish” discussion. Partici­pants were challenged to consider goals, impact, and role within the university ecosystem.

Afternoon- Brett introduced the key concepts of the pre-reading materials regarding OTC best practices, and began to describe his vision for “taking your OTC from an appendix to the heart of the university”. Par­ticipants were challenged to consider what role they currently play, where they would like to go as an office, and how they might get there.

Day 2:

Morning- Brett Described the A&M philosophy, model, and matrix for technology classification, which links di­rectly to the A&M methodology for making informed de­cisions regarding path-to-market, venture vs. licensing focus, resource allocation, etc.

Afternoon- Eli introduced the topic of business intelli­gence/competitive intelligence as a tool for decision-making and support using the A&M model and meth­odology as an effective example, then presented, compared, and contrasted three tools used in IC2 and partner OTC’s:

1. The UT OTC Methodology

2. The Quicklook Methodology

3. The Rapid Screen Methodology

Participants were challenged to consider ways their of­fices could formalize decision-making processes, and to form teams and map technologies using Brett’s matrix and approach.

Day 3:

Morning- Eli introduced his methodology and approach to creating a data grid for team intelligence gather­ing. Participants were challenged to consider ways to incorporate some form of data mapping into their pro­cesses, and to map technologies on Brett’s matrix based on their evaluations.

Afternoon- Participants shared presentations and con­clusions from the A&M approach, and the context with­in their ecosystems. Brett and the UTEN team provided feedback and the group discussed ways to leverage lessons shared to successfully achieve commercial­ization goals through effective venture creation tech­niques and careful selection of technologies for univer­sity spin-outs.