TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER & INNOVATION SUPPORT
About Us
The Technology Transfer and Innovation Support Office supports the campuses with all aspects of industrialising and commercialising their inventions, including the following:
• Assistance with funding applications for commercialisation
• Marketing of technologies and expertise
• Building of networks with industry
• Protection of Intellectual Property
The Office also assists with:
• Searching for art
• Technology and market research surveys
• Liaising with patent attorneys
• Industrialisation
• Defining market needs
• Managing selected projects
• Locating and selecting subcontractors
• Commercialisation
• Identifying and selecting partners
• Developing and negotiating commercial models and structures
• Managing the Intellectual Property Rights
• Negotiating licensing and other technology transfer agreements
• Establishing and mentoring spin-off companies
• Managing existing licensing agreements
• Organising and conducting workshops for students on entrepreneurship
Message from the Director: Technology Transfer & Innovation Support Office
Implementation of expertise concerns each and every staff member of the NWU. The University embraces its role as a regionally relevant university with a social responsibility, which includes transferring its knowledge to business and communities to assist in developing South Africa.
Almost any research or development at the NWU has commercial or internal benefit. Our expertise leads to knowledge, which could be disseminated through:
• Study guides, books, short courses, seminars and conferences.
• Project and research reports.
• Products, patents, models, chemical formulations, processes and systems.
• Trademarks and copyright.
• Management, decision-making and process systems, often captured in computer software.
• Counselling, mentoring and consulting services.
• Analytical services.
• In-house operations and facility management systems.
Why is it so important for us to implement our expertise?
• It motivates researchers when outsiders use and appreciate their expertise.
• Expertise builds and supports the reputation of the NWU.
• A good reputation attracts and retains good researchers.
• Knowledge and expertise attract the business world.
• Implementing expertise creates work opportunities for our students and the community.
• It renders the NWU more economical and self-sustainable.
Sir Francis Darwin said: “In Science, the credit goes to the man who convinces the world, not the man to whom the idea occurs first”. It is therefore of no use developing a leading technology without letting the world know of its merit. Technology transfer is a crucial process in doing just this. It builds a bridge between the needs of the outside world and the inventiveness of our staff and assists in transferring the knowledge to those who can benefit from it.
Technology transfer, however, requires a mindset vastly different from the creative and research worlds. It has a lower tolerance for costs, time and specification deviations. The process takes longer and requires more resources and effort than what is normally expected, but the results of successful technology transfer are like hitting a hole in one – it excites us and keeps us going.
The NWU has a number of people ready and able to assist researchers and creative staff in taking their creations to the market.
- Dr Rudi van der Walt
Director:Technology Transfer & Innovation Support