University of Florida on Monday revealed UF Innovate, a newly created umbrella organisation for the institution’s commercialisation activities.
UF Innovate unites four parts of Florida’s operation – Tech Licensing (formerly known as Office of Technology Licensing), Ventures and two incubators, the Hub and Sid Martin Biotech.
The umbrella organisation will handle intellectual property management, provide tech transfer expertise, operate facilities, and offer access to talent and capital management.
Tech Licensing handles technology transfer for University of Florida, while Ventures will act as the liaison between public and private sectors and implement an investment program with a view of connecting companies, angel investors, funds and entrepreneurs.
Sid Martin Biotech is an incubator dedicated to biotechnology startups. The Hub, originally known as Innovation Hub, focuses on early-stage technology companies and recently doubled its available space.
Jim O’Connell, assistant vice-president for commercialisation at UF and direct of Tech Licensing, said: “UF Innovate is an organisation that has existed for years but never been named.
“By naming UF’s commercialisation efforts and purposefully uniting these four entities under the umbrella of UF Innovate, we are better able to work as a team, intent on the purpose of moving research out of the labs and into people’s lives, developing entrepreneurs and startups, and enabling our researchers to see their work change the world for the better.”
