Something is heating in up in Arizona and we are not just talking about the desert sun and prospects for year-round golf. The University’s technology commercialization engine, Tech Launch Arizona (TLA), has reengineered itself into a model for the future.
By integrating corporate relations, technology transfer, tech parks and incubators, and the Wheelhouse Network, a vast community of domain experts under one, campus-wide umbrella, TLA has streamlined its ability to maximize relationships with industry partners.
Our investigation of the program has yielded four, direct initiatives that contribute to this overarching mission of an integrated, industry relationship-building system:
- Proof of Concept Program: Grants that provide funding for promising ideas and technologies developed by UA Faculty to assess value, create prototypes, and develop a path towards commercialization. The group puts around $40K in each award to give the jumpstart a project needs for validation and de-risking in order to become more attractive to potential investors and commercial partners
- AZ Choice: Program offering several defined options for licensing intellectual property (IP) to give industrial sponsors greater certainty and minimize negotiations for licensing IP generated under sponsored research. This program is tailored to make UA more approachable to business of all sizes and allow each to chose a route that is best aligned with their innovation goals
- Embedded licensing managers: TLA partners with colleges and departments to embed full time licensing managers. This arrangement encourages relationship between innovative faculty and tech transfer/corporate relations and can smooth the route to commercial development and partnership
- Promotion and Tenure Policy: Leading practice to rewarding faculty for their commercialization as part of their route to establishing tenure and other opportunities on campus
WANT TO LEARN MORE….
Join us on February 5th: If you want to learn specifics about the TechLaunch Arizona model, please joining us for the discussion on February 5th as we detail this program and the University of Manitoba : please learn more here and join us for the event.
Showcase your U-I program: If you program would like to be added to these spotlights and showcased in future articles or if you are a institution or stakeholder interested in these approaches, please make yourself known here
