Utah becoming a regional tech hub
By Zach Miles, Deputy Executive Director of the Technology Commercialization Office, University of Utah
We have seen a scarcity of snowfall in Utah so far this year, which to some may be a cause for joyous celebration and to others the dismay of knowing they can’t get a refund on their season lift ticket. What hasn’t been in short supply is continuous improvement and service enhancement at the U’s Technology Commercialization Office (TCO), which is part of the Technology Venture Development office.
The TCO is recognized around the world as a leader in transforming smart ideas into life changing applications. Our aim is to get even better. Improving on our past successes will require dedication to several key areas, including partnering with our stakeholders in business development, driving value from discovery to practical use, and creating an ecosystem hub of commercialization.
Being business partners, not just licensing managers
Commercializing smart ideas goes beyond one organization and its importance within the system. It requires partnership. Although most commercialization offices are associated with intellectual property management, protection and licensing, the TCO views partnerships of utmost importance. To successfully take ideas to market requires collaboration and unified direction. It also signifies a broader base of interaction, including patents, licensing and startups, with a focus on ideas at their earliest stages of development. The TCO’s partnership support extends to startup support, evaluating ideas, spinning-in technologies and early-stage seed funding.
Driving value
A metric of successful commercialization has always been revenue. But business development goes well beyond dollars and cents. Key stakeholders, such as the university, the state and investors, are concerned about other deliverables, such as business formation, job creation, tax revenue, market share, return on investment, education and outreach efforts. All of these outcomes represent value. Realizing this, the TCO is focused on driving a broader definition of value than just monetary return. Value can be driven in many ways, including helping a startup secure funding, advising new startups, building stronger sponsored-research collaborations and creatively structuring win-win business deals. Driving value into each of these events increases overall economic progress.
Building a world-class commercialization hub
Many recognize the TCO as a leader in transforming the way universities undertake commercialization. Numerous institutions come to the U every year to learn how to monetize their IP assets. However, many institutions lack the infrastructure, culture, resources or administrative support to be as successful as they desire. Many of these organizations, including firms, universities and foundations, are partnering with the U to accomplish their commercialization goals. The result is collaborative centers, which are becoming hubs of creative commercialization that are attracting resources (money and people), attention (prestige), intellectual property (as well as tacit forms of knowledge) and economic growth in the communities of all partners. The ecosystem that is growing around these hubs encourages a virtuous cycle of development that leads to further growth, resources and notoriety. We believe the TCO will continue to be a leader in commercial activities and become the western hub for commercialization.
These three changing conditions — partnership, value and regionalization — will change the face of university-led commercialization. Like all change, whether it’s good or bad depends on how one responds. We are confident that the TCO will take the lead in this new era of regional commercialization and will be a key player in setting new standards for commercial success. So, although the snow may be limited, there is no shortage of vision for how the TCO will address the changing commercialization landscape.
