UR’s Office of Technology Transfer is taking “a new project management approach to technology development and commercialization” a recent press release said.
The office helps students at the University bring their inventions and innovations to market by offering advising on patent applications, helping to market innovations to potential clients through licensing efforts, and insuring compliance with federal reporting requirements. The office is also responsible for all kinds of agreements related to intellectual property and proprietary information.
Needless to say, if you’ve done research at UR, you’ve probably interacted with them in some way, shape, or form. The newly renamed “UR Ventures” has a fresh goal: “to locate and secure the resources necessary to make each discovery available for public use.”
But the changes don’t stop there. “We’re aiming for a break with the past and a new vision, a new approach,” said David Englert, Marketing Manager of UR Ventures. “It’s way more than a name change.”
While the change officially went into effect Oct. 21, changes are still ongoing for the technology office.
“We plan to develop a more active approach toward marketing than the typical technology transfer office,” Englert said.
Most technology transfer offices get caught up in the details of marketing technology: legal battles over patents can last years, and by the time they’re done, a student might be too exhausted to care about bringing their idea to consumers. UR Ventures promises new strategies that focus on bringing each new idea to market as quickly and affordably as possible.
Scott Catlin, Vice President for Innovation and Technology Commercialization at UR and head of UR Ventures, is reportedly behind the recent changes. Scott was appointed in February 2013, and has used the momentum of his appointment to push for innovation.
As an organization “at the nexus of academic research and the business world” UR Ventures holds a vital place for the UR community.
Ranked 28th most influential research university in the world by the High Impact Universities Initiative, research is absolutely critical to the UR community.
Indeed, students seem receptive of the changes made by Catlin.
“I’m not sure what UR Ventures is,” freshman Laura Lockard said. “But it definitely sounds better than ‘Office of Technology Transfer.’ That’s a real mouthful.”
Contino is a member of
the class of 2017.
