San Diego updates tech transfer

In October 2013, University of California, San Diego’s (UCSD) vice-chancellor of research Sandra Brown and then-director of the new Division of Innovation and Industry Alliances Philip Bourne announced the university’s efforts to bridge the academia-industry gap.

Over the past eight months, the university’s tech transfer office has been hard at work to implement those changes. Smaller changes that have already occurred include the express license programme. The programme offers streamlined agreements to provide smoother licensing, although UCSD admits that not all industry partners are used to the fixed terms yet. An internal committee decides within 30 days whether to accept a company’s application and business plan – much faster than typical negotiations.

UCSD has also launched an undergraduate research portal, and several new accelerators have been created on campus. Both the TTO and the Division of Innovation and Industry Alliances emphasise the importance of communication, the key reason for setting up the research portal.

An important step the university is yet to take is changing its rewards system, as it currently still only incentivises professors for publications. The system ignores spin-outs, patents and licenses.

Teri Melese, assistant vice-chancellor at the Division of Innovation and Industry Alliance, said: “We have come to the realisation that we need to encourage faculty to be entrepreneurial and innovative, and that will not happen if the only metric for promotion is through publications. So I definitely think we will see changes on the horizon. It better not be in the next decade. I think with the new UC leadership and [University of California president] Janet Napolitano, I am very hopeful that these concepts will happen within the next five years.”