Examining the impact of university-industry collaborations on spin-off creation: Evidence from joint patents.

The literature on entrepreneurship and technology transfer highlights several factors that impact the creation of university Spin-Offs. However, there is a limited body of research that specifically explores the impact of university-industry collaborations on the performance creation of these spinoffs. This study aims to fill this gap by examining the effects of university-industry collaborations on the creation of Spin-Offs from two perspectives: the number of university collaborations with different companies and the number of previous collaborations between the same university-industry dyad. The research employs joint patents as a source to measure the university-industry collaborations and statistical methods to empirically examine the impact of these collaborations on Spin-Off creation. The study is based on data from 108 universities between the years 2014 and 2017. The findings of this study reveal that both the number of collaborations and specially the presence of previous collaborations between the university and industry have a positive effect on the creation of Spin-Offs. These results suggest that universities and companies should consider these findings when formulating their strategies or policies for technology transfer and innovation management by encouraging university-industry collaborations.

Which variables predict the internationalization type of academic spin-offs?

This study aims to find out which variables predict the internationalization type of academic spin-offs. This topic has not yet received any attention in academic spin-offs' internationalization literature. We use a sample of Spanish spin-offs, with four dependent variables reflecting internationalization types and a large selection of independent variables reflecting various domains considered in the extant literature. Logistic regression is applied to outline marginal effects and prediction accuracies. The results show that academic spin-offs which are oriented towards international markets from the beginning of their activities and constantly pursue new international opportunities are more likely to internationalize fast and remain international for a longer time period than other firms. Being the first to introduce product or process innovations and co-operating with international government institutions, competitors, customers, and/or suppliers is also relatively useful for such internationalizers. The study also demonstrates that predicting if an academic spin-off will become a less active internationalizer results in a higher accuracy than forecasting if it will become a born global. Moreover, predicting if a firm will internationalize later results in a higher accuracy than forecasting if this will happen during the first three years since the spin-off's foundation.

Fonoaudiología en Educación: Experiencias docentes para la conformación de una Spin-off universitaria / Speech and language therapy in education: Teaching experiences for the conformation of a university Spin-off

Este artículo pretende demostrar la viabilidad que tiene la creación de una spin-off universitaria que ofrezca servicios fonoaudiológicos para darle solución a las dificultades comunicativas que se presentan en el ámbito escolar, tanto en estudiantes como en docentes y administrativos. Metodología: Este fue un estudio cualitativo con diseño de investigación mixto, en el cual se obtuvieron los resultados a partir de una revisión documental y la aplicación de dos instrumentos de recolección de datos a profesionales de algunas instituciones educativas públicas y privadas de Medellín. Resultados: Los resultados evidenciaron que los docentes no reconocen en su totalidad las funciones del fonoaudiólogo en el sector educativo, y así mismo, se demostró que la participación que se ha tenido en los procesos que lleva a cabo este profesional en las instituciones educativas no ha sido la esperada; los docentes refirieron identificar diversas dificultades en los estudiantes y en ellos mismos, relacionadas con la comunicación; además, reconocieron la importancia y necesidad de incluir al fonoaudiólogo en las instituciones educativas. Conclusión: Se concluye que en el sector educativo son evidentes las dificultades comunicativas que presentan los estudiantes, los docentes y administrativos, sin embargo, en estas instituciones aún no se ha integrado el servicio de fonoaudiología, por ende, no se logra dimensionar el alcance que tiene el fonoaudiólogo para beneficiar la población escolar. Las experiencias docentes permitieron confirmar el gran valor que tiene la conformación de una spin-off que ofrezca servicios fonoaudiológicos a la comunidad educativa, brinde solución a las necesidades y complemente la labor docente

To demonstrate the viability of creating a university spin-off that offers speech and language services to solve communication difficulties that appear in the school environment for students, teachers and administrators. Methodology: This was a qualitative study with a mixed research design in which the results were obtained from a documentary review and the application of two data collection instruments to professionals in some public and private educational institutions in Medellin. Results: The results showed that the teachers do not fully recognize the functions of the speech and language therapist in the educational sector and it was also demonstrated that the participation in the processes carried out by this professional in the educational institutions has not been as expected. The teachers referred to identify various difficulties in the students and in themselves related to communication. In addition, they recognized the importance and need to include the speech and language therapist in the educational institutions.Conclusion: It is concluded that in the educational sector the communication difficulties presented by students, teachers and administrators are evident; however, in these educational institutions the speech and language service has not yet been integrated. Therefore, it is not possible to dimension the scope that the speech and language therapist has to benefit the school population. The teaching experiences allowed confirming the great value of the conformation of a spin-off that offers speech and language services to the educational community, providing solutions to the needs and complementing the teaching work

From laboratory bench to benchmark: technology transfer in laboratory medicine.

BACKGROUND: Life Sciences research, enhancing the occurrence of innovation, is able to impact clinical decision-making, both at diagnosis and therapy. Indeed, starting from the knowledge of specific needs and of technical-scientific demands, researchers can conceive and experiment innovative solutions. Despite these strengths, transferring research to the market in Life Sciences shows considerable criticalities. The aim of this paper is to provide concrete evidences on the processes of technology transfer based on the exploitation of the results obtained by KronosDNAsrl, an academic spin-off focused on reproductive medicine. METHODS: Different tools were used to evaluate the technical feasibility (validation of the results obtained with the prototype) and to manage the technology transfer process of One4Two®. RESULTS: The different analyses we carried out showed the feasibility of the proposed solution. As a result, the One4Two® prototype has been developed and validated. CONCLUSIONS: Here, we provide a strength of evidences on how knowledge obtained by translational research on "bench" can be used to be transferred to the market on "benchmark" enabling innovation in Laboratory Medicine. In addition, the model described for One4Two® can be easily transferred to other products.

Health research and innovation: Can we optimize the interface between startups/pharmaceutical companies and academic health care institutions or not?

Although France has numerous assets in the realm of health care, such as the excellence of its research teams, the reputation of its healthcare system, and the presence of many startups, all of which are necessary to become a leader in innovation, it also has combined cultural and regulatory barriers that limit the flexibility and efficiency of interactions between companies/startups and public health institutions. Therefore, the aim of the roundtable discussion was to optimize the interface between those businesses and institutions. Several institutions have successfully implemented teams and procedures which aim to facilitate this interface, with regard to assessments of technology, services provided, the transfer of biological material, R&D collaboration, and licensing agreements. However, there is still a notable absence of entrepreneurial culture among hospital and academic research practitioners; their training regarding innovation remains insufficient and business-related value-creation is non-existent in their career evolution. Pharmaceutical companies, and particularly startups, often lack knowledge about hospital environments and their constraints. As a result, the recommendations of the roundtable participants are as follows: (1) promote reciprocal acculturation between public health institutions and startups through multidisciplinary training in innovation, promoting project development and staff recognition within the institution, and improving pharmaceutical companies' understanding regarding the health care system; (2) provide those involved with means and resources dedicated to innovation by reserving time for innovation at work, securing the status of the staff involved, and aiding in the search for funding; (3) develop and use standard methodologies and tools; and (4) co-design and co-construct innovative health solutions, encouraging the emergence of participatory and interdisciplinary creative spaces. All of these recommendations should help to make the interface between startups/companies and public health institutions more fluid and attractive for those in the health sector.

Economic Aspects of Industrial Biotechnology.

Industrial biotechnology is a key tool in the switch from a petro-based to a bio-based economy. For biotechnological processes to compete competitively in cost with chemical synthesis, the best available state-of-the-art technologies are necessary. In the last few years, industrial biotechnology has undergone fast technological development, resulting in a high number of basic technologies emanating from research efforts at universities and research institutions. Academic spin-offs have great importance in technological development because of their innovation from academic backgrounds. Technology transfer through spin-offs can help significantly in translating research at European universities and research institutions into commercial applications. More business oriented and experienced people, similar to founding or business angels, should join such new ventures to achieve successful realization of technology transfer.

Retos para las spin-off académicas en México como resultado de la valorización económica de I+D+i de las universidades / Challenges for the academic spin-offs in Mexico as a result of the economic valorization of RD & I from the universities

Resumen El modelo de valorización económica, de los resultados de investigación, desarrollo e innovación (I+D+i) de las universidades, mediante la creación de empresas spin-off, ha demostrado tener un alto índice de éxito e impacto social en diferentes países. En las universidades de Latinoamérica se está fomentando la cultura emprendedora para su creación, por los beneficios económicos que se generan para la universidad y los investigadores participantes. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue analizar el contexto nacional e internacional de las spin-off académicas, para identificar algunos de los factores que favorecen u obstaculizan su creación y éxito, como estrategia para acelerar su implementación en México. Al ser un modelo recientemente introducido al país, las spin-off académicas requieren la creación de un nuevo marco legal dentro de las universidades para establecer con claridad beneficios y compromisos de la institución y participantes, así como, favorecer su gestión, implementación y crecimiento. Además, de encaminar los resultados de I+D+i para que puedan ser comercializables, capacitar a los investigadores en emprendimiento y propiedad intelectual, aumentar la inversión en investigación privada, y generar políticas y condiciones para incrementar el número de investigadores en México.

Abstract The economic valorization model from the Research Development and Innovation (RD & I) for higher education research results through the creation of spin-offs, has demonstrated to attain a high success index and a positive social impact in several countries. Accordingly, Latin American Universities are encouraging an entrepreneurship culture for the creation of spin-offs since it leads to economic profits for both, the University and the participating researchers. The objective of this paper was to analyze the national and international context of academic spin-offs in order to identify some factors that promote or prevent their creation and success as strategy to accelerate their implementation in Mexico. Since this model has recently been introduced to the country, academic spin-offs require the creation of a new legal framework inside the universities in order to achieve two main goals: one is to establish clearly the rights and responsibilities of the institution and the participants, and the second one entails fostering their management, implementation and development. In addition, there is similarly a need to channel the RD & I results in order to transform them into marketable goods; to train researchers in entrepreneurship and intellectual property; increase private research investment, and generate policies and conditions to increase the number of researchers in Mexico.

Strategies on Technology Transfer and Patents Commercialization for Nanotechnology at the Spanish National Research Council.

Nanoscience and nanotechnology made their appearance in the scientific scene at a time when both the economy of Spain and the Spanish Research and Innovation System were experiencing strong growth. This circumstance resulted in a remarkable development of nanoscience and nanotechnology especially in universities and public research institutions such as the Spanish National Research Council (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-CSIC). However, this development in academia has not been reflected in a similar increment in the transfer of knowledge to the productive sector despite several efforts and initiatives were launched. The CSIC, the main generator of scientific knowledge in Spain, has designed and implemented a series of actions in order to take advantage of the knowledge generated in nanotechnology by its research groups by mean of an appropriate transfer to both the Spanish and the international industry. METHOD: Internal methodologies used in CSIC in order to protect and commercialize nanotechnology based intellectual property as well as their effects are reviewed. The evolution of CSIC nanotechnology patents portfolio is also analyzed. RESULTS: There has been a clear increase in the patent license agreements of CSIC in the period 2002- 2015 in the field of nanotechnology. This increase is correlated to these facts: (i) Highly qualified team managing Intellectual Property issues, (ii) The presence of CSIC in international fairs, and (iii) Proactive search of companies and investors. CONCLUSION: Successful results can be achieved in technology transfer when the appropriate resources are available and properly organized with an adequate combination of efforts in knowledge protection, promotion and commercialization of technologies and support to the scientific entrepreneurs of the institution.

Coming Together: R&D and Children's Entertainment Company in Designing APPs for Learning Early Math.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have an increasing influence on the way we interact, learn, and live. The increase in teaching and learning methodologies that are mediated by ICT in the field of education and in the domestic settings encourages the design of new effective technological tools, supported by scientific research and development to improve student learning. The challenge psychology is facing in the education field is to promote those technologies and make them available to the education community. Technologies also would produce attractive items for users and realistic commercial issues for businesses. This also allows an effective transfer for scientific work, providing visibility to Research and Development. In this context, the main aim of the article is to describe the process to get an agreement between Babyradio (a children's entertainment company: https://babyradio.es/) and our research team, starting a collaborative work between two groups of people (Babyradio's technical designer and Psychologist-Engineers software designer), in order to create several educative applications (APPs) in the field of early mathematics cognition. The institutional framework of the relationship of the R&D project and a children's entertainment company is described. The article also focuses on experience in Psychology, Technological Innovation, and Entrepreneurship. In considering the efficiency of the agreement, we present different APPs designed for tablets and smartphone devices, adapted to the different operating systems (IOS, Android, Windows). APPs are designed to instill the cognitive fundamentals associated with early math learning for students aged 4 to 7 years. The study developed after this babyradio-university enterprise agreement contributes to the development of mathematics skills in children, aged 4-7 years, so that they can successfully meet the mathematics school requirements; it also contributes to encouraging a more positive attitude toward mathematics. This study also suggests how the education system and software and educational content developers' companies would manage verified instructional APPs, with a more realistic commercial perspective.

Transferring research from a university to the United Kingdom National Health Service: the implications for impact.

The aim of this article is to inform readers of the author's reflections on the experience of transferring university-based research into the commercial sector, and of the processes and strategies employed when preparing for impact in so doing. Concepts for the transfer are illustrated by the author's reflection on aspects that arose during the birthing and subsequent start-up of a university spin-off, Pathways2Wellbeing, a form of reflection-on-action. This is the vehicle for the adaption required to transfer research into the delivery of a specialised clinic in the United Kingdom National Health Service for people with medically unexplained, persistent, bodily symptoms such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and chronic pain. It is hoped that the article will provide readers with an insight into how knowledge transfer can take place through engagement with stakeholders to create an exchange of knowledges to result in impact on health service policy for service users, despite the challenges, and the enablers that facilitated this process. The reflections on the process of knowledge transfer and the implications for impact are underpinned by relevant theory.