TTO begins Technology Commercialization Clinic pilot program

The University of Colorado Technology Transfer Office has announced the start of its Technology Commercialization Clinic, a pilot program designed to enhance the technology commercialization process at CU.

The clinic consists of 25 graduate students and post-doctoral fellows from a diverse set of research labs at CU-Boulder and the CU Anschutz Medical Campus, each paired with a volunteer patent attorney mentor and a technology licensing manager.

Clinic participants will attend a monthly series of presentations and interactive discussions. At a networking event last month, they learned about intellectual property protection, technology assessment, commercial opportunity and technology road mapping.

Participants will assist in identifying technologies and inventions in their departments with commercial potential, and may also be involved in defining a proof of concept strategy for those technologies, to help move them closer to market readiness.

The goal of the clinic is two-fold: On the one hand, the quality of invention disclosures and the overall impact of technologies is expected to increase as students and research associates are able to identify new inventions. On the other hand, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows will obtain a better educational experience by acquiring important skills in intellectual property and technology transfer, which has become essential in both academic and non-academic science careers.

The Technology Commercialization Clinic also will make the relationship between TTO and the academic community more effective, by involving academic researchers earlier and more consistently. TTO expects that this more fluid relationship will lead to greater trust between researchers and TTO, while increasing awareness in CU's research departments for commercial opportunities.