How Technology Transfer can benefit your business
The VITAL project has now identified over 150 innovative ideas some of which have been evaluated and substantiated with a business case. The VITAL project managers are now seeking to identify Northern Ireland (outside Greater Belfast) and Border-based business owners and track record entrepreneurs who are interested in being matched up with these new product / technology opportunities.
“Leveraging the discoveries, technologies and intellectual property of others can give companies a distinct competitive advantage and can shorten the time to market” says VITAL Project Director Kieran Fegan. “This can save time and money on R&D and can be undertaken in conjunction with in house R&D activities”
Kieran goes on to summarise the benefits of technology transfer and licensing. “Licensing enables companies to acquire or put conditions in place to commercialise new products and processes without going through the expensive and risk of research & development. The most common forms of Technology Transfer are licensing, joint ventures and technical cooperation agreements. Technology Transfer allows companies to expand the product portfolio or to enhance the functionality of an existing product.
The Benefits of Technology Transfer are as follows: -
- A large amount of technology has been developed internationally and there is a wide choice available
- Faster return on Investment
- Already developed or at an advanced stage of development – perhaps proven in other markets
- Shorter time to market
- Lower cost
- Technical assistance
- Accessing and gaining new skills
- Possibilities of sharing costs and risks
- Access to innovation and potentially new markets
- Technology licensing can enable a firm to enter a foreign market quickly
- Reduced legal and financial risk
- Overcomes barriers experienced via exporting
VITAL is screening and evaluating the innovative ideas it has identified to date and has worked up a number of strong business cases. The project is now focused on the matching and licensing process where it can assist on key licensing provisions such as Technology / IP, territories, payment, further improvement, exclusivity, duration and legal considerations.
Once the license conditions have been agreed, the project can provide assistance with implementation advancement, fast tracking where appropriate, the route to market through one-to-one mentoring, consultancy, access to market knowledge and priming funding if required.
Kieran concludes, “We are encouraging businesses and entrepreneurs looking for new opportunities to get involved. VITAL can enable new and profitable partnerships through a new kind of technology transfer that will allow them to short circuit their time to market, reduce development costs and extend their market reach."
Anyone wishing to express an interest in the VITAL project can do so through the website or my contacting a member of the team directly.
