The university has rebranded its Office of Technology Transfer to Office of Technology Commercialization and New Ventures, and promoted Kelly Sexton (pictured) to vice-chancellor.
North Carolina State University (NC State) has renamed its knowledge transfer office to Office of Technology Commercialization and New Ventures (OTCNV), promoting Kelly Sexton from director to assistant vice-chancellor for the unit.
Previously known as Office of Technology Transfer, the institution decided to rebrand the division to reflect its increased emphasis on commercialisation efforts and the creation of new companies.
The change also follows an increased commercialisation activity by NC State as it broke into the top 10 of tech transfer office in the US for number of licenses and options granted. The office has also boosted the number of new companies and enhanced the support to these businesses.
The uptake has been ascribed in part to the Chancellor’s Innovation Fund, a $5m vehicle invested by the university to boost the technology development of academic research with market potential.
Sexton said: “Our technology commercialisation efforts are now scaled to match the excellence of NC State’s research enterprise.
“We have created meaningful collaborations with entrepreneurial ecosystem partners both on and off campus to support entrepreneurs as they work to launch and scale startup companies based on university research discoveries.”
– Image courtesy of OTCNV
