2007 Annual Conference Heidelberg

[edit] OPENING & WELCOME

Jeff Skinner, President ASTP, Opening
Hans-Gunther Sonntag, City of Heidelberg, Welcome
Hans Wigzell, Senior Strategic Advisor Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, The secret behind the technology transfer success of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Presentation

[edit] Discussing current issues in Technology Transfer:
Collaborating with Corporates

[edit] Managing the Technology Transfer portfolio:
Increasing the odds in Tech Transfer

Structural aspects of effective Tech Transfer:
Program dedicated TT units

Thiess Matzke, Ascenion, Germany
René Rohrbeck, Senior researcher Deutsche Telekom Laboratories, Germany
Klaus Wilgenbus,, Corporate Senior Vice President Global Licensing Boehringer Ingelheim, Germany
Gabriel Clerc, Head of Technology Transfer EPFL, Switzerland
IP is often a barrier to effective collaboration with companies. They think it valuable enough to insist on ownership but are reluctant to pay much for it (either full costs or royalties). Where is the middle ground - and which side is being unreasonable?

Herbert Reutimann, Managing Director Unitectra, Switzerland
Rudy Dekeyser, Vice General Director VIB, Belgium, Switzerland
Most of the patents we file end up getting abandoned without licensing, either because we didn’t do enough market research or because we couldn’t put the time into finding licensees. Should we be rejecting far more disclosures than we do – if so, which ones? And if they slip through to become a patent; how do we kill those?

Bruno Lambrecht, Legal Counsel KU Leuven R&D, Belgium
Denis Dambois, D.G. Research European Commission, Belgium
Unification in TT rules & structures. The national regulatory framework and practices (including national guidelines and model contracts, etc.) for university-industry knowledge transfer show significant differences across the EU. Is it realistic to aim at a more uniform playing field? And is it desirable?

[edit] Discussing current issues in Technology Transfer:
When we can't find licensees

[edit] Managing the Technology Transfer portfolio:
Commercialisation plans

[edit] Structural aspects of effective Tech Transfer:
Ownership & incentive regimes

Egenhard Link, Patent & Licensing Manager Max Planck Innovation, Germany
Patrick Jones, President AUTM & Director Office of Technology Transfer University of Arizona, USA
Thomas Wehlage, BASF Future Business, Germany
Rudy Dekeyser, Vice President VIB, Belgium
We often find ourselves pushing technologies that everyone believes in but no-one (corporate or VC) wants to invest in - we're told that they are 'too early'? What is going wrong? Is it our marketing? Should we use regional 'technology' funds to develop further? Are potential licensees right or are they acting irrationally - and what should our response be?

Robert MacWright, Executive Director University of Virginia Patent Foundation, USA
Karen Laigaard, Head of Technology Transfer University of Copenhagen, Denmark, USA
How much effort should we put into developing commercialisation plans and strategy? Two speakers will advocate that the effectiveness of TTO is significantly enhanced using this approach – and striking the right balance between analysis and paralysis.

Hans Wigzell, Senior Strategic Advisor Karolinska Institute, Sweden
Teri Willey, Chief executive Cambridge University, United Kingdom
If our primary purpose is to see technology utilised, does it really matter whether academics own their own IP and what share of royalties they receive? Sweden successfully exploits IP and Cambridge flourished as a hightech region despite academic ownership of IP. Might it be a good thing if academics had a choice?

[edit] Discussing current issues in Technology Transfer:
Tech Transfer at a distance

[edit] Managing the Technology Transfer portfolio:
Software applications and innovations

[edit] Structural aspects of effective Tech Transfer:
Regional Networks

Alfred Schillert, Managing Director Provendis, Germany
David Catton, Managing Director of SUEL and non-Exec Director of Biofusion, United Kingdom
Martin Raditsch, Head of Business Development EMBLEM, Germany
Hannes Lehmann, Director Dresden University of Technology, Germany
Some argue that Tech Transfer is inseparable from the university and will never be as effective if out-sourced. Others say they've tried out-sourcing and it works far better. Here we listen to two very different models of outsourcing to discern how (and if) they work and what is lost.

David Harnett, Senior Director Microsoft IP Ventures Group, USA
Jari J. Rantala, Innovation Manager University of Helsinki, Finland
Universities generate huge amounts of innovative software applications – which can be licensed or used as the basis of a business. However, the core IP is much more ‘fragile’ than in the case of (say) biotech – and commercialisation far more difficult. Here we learn about and discuss two very different ways of managing such projects – ‘open source’(low investment) and ‘new venturing’ (high investment).

Peter Reid, CEO London Technology Network, United Kingdom
Gabriel Clerc, , Head of Technology Transfer EPFL, Switzerland
Using Regional Network Organisations. Governments and regions all want a slice of the ‘knowledge economy’ and invest in multiple networks, events and funds aimed at fostering innovation and linking businesses with universities and each other. How can we work with and ‘use’ such regional initiatives to best effect? Can natural tensions be overcome to create a productive relationship?

[edit] OPENING SESSION

Paul Van Dun, Vice President ASTP,ASTP Survey 2007.
Presentation
Sachi Hatakenaka, Consultant,Cultural differences between the US, Japan & Europe – what can we learn from the different approaches and environments - and what are the implications for government funding of our activities?. Presentation

[edit] Discussing current issues in Technology Transfer:
Universities regenerating regions

[edit] Managing the Technology Transfer portfolio
Seven Deadly Sins

[edit] Structural aspects of effective Tech Transfer:
Key Performance Indicators

Regina Oertel, Director Technology Transfer and Research Funding University Aachen, Germany
Jean Severijns, Projectmanager Internationalisation Province of Limburg, the Netherlands
Horst Domdey, CEO Bio-M, Germany
Peter Reid, CEO Centre for Scientific Enterprise, United Kingdom
Regional governments all want 'their' universities to play their part in regional regeneration. Generally we want to help but it's unclear what the role of TT should be. In this session we hear two examples of regeneration where university technology & expertise were a key part of the plan.

Patrick Jones, President AUTM & Director Office of Technology Transfer University of Arizona, USA
Robert MacWright, Executive Director, University of Virginia Patent Foundation, USA
The seven deadly sins of Technology Transfer. We all make mistakes – some unavoidable, others due to inexperience and the ability to see where our good intentions can lead us. We can learn from each other’s experiences and in this session we expose and discuss the worst mistakes you can make.

Teri Willey, Chief executive Cambridge University, United Kingdom
Patrick Llenera, BETA University Louis Pasteur, France
As TTOs become larger we become more accountable on our performance to multiple stakeholders (university, government) If we are wise then we will propose and agree the ‘Key Performance Indicators’ (KPIs) with stakeholders in advance. However, the choice of KPIs is not trivial – some measure activity, others income. Some are lagging, some leading. What basket of KPIs best reflects performance?

[edit] Discussing current issues in Technology Transfer:
The use and abuse of early-stage funds

[edit] Managing the Technology Transfer portfolio:
Green Technologies

[edit] Structural aspects of effective Tech Transfer:
Case study – the licensing of the MP3 Technology

Alex von Frankenberg, CEO High- Tech Gründerfonds Management, Germany
Simon Barnes, Managing Partner Tate & Lyle Ventures, United Kingdom
Herbert Reutimann, Managing Director Unitectra, Switzerland
Thomas Doppelberger, Director Fraunhofer Venture-Group, Germany
Most technologies need further investment - whether to pay for patents or to develop further. Many governments/regions have got this message and are setting up early stage funds. How should such funds be structured and managed to ensure that they are useful and invested wisely?

Jochen Moesslein, CEO VentureInvest, Germany
Antti Pasanen, Managing Director St1 Biofuels Oy, Finland
There is worldwide interest in green technologies and clear opportunities for licensing and new ventures in the field. However, this is a broad area – where are the opportunities for university technologies? We illustrate via an example of a success story from Finland.

Helmut Schubert, Head Patent and Licensing Department Fraunhofer, Germany
Martin Sieler, Director IP Exploration Thomson, Germany
The licensing of the MP3 Technology is one of the great success stories of Technology Transfer. We are pleased to welcome one of those who was intimately involved in the process to tell the story.

FINAL SESSION : This House believes that Technology Transfer is a Transient profession

Jeff Skinner, President ASTP & Director of Strategic Partnerships, University College London, United Kingdom
Patrick Jones, President AUTM & Director Office of Technology Transfer, University of Arizona, USA
In this final session we debate the longevity of our profession – is Technology Transfer here to stay in its current form or are there good reasons to believe that it will disappear or fragment. We approach this topic in an light-hearted way – hearing passionate argument for and against the motion opening the debate to the House and then putting the motion to a vote.