Siberian Federal University: Tech Transfer System Affects Universities Development
Among the topics covered by the Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum 2022, on 3 March 2022, the participants discussed the impact of the technology transfer system on the universities development.
According to Alexander Fertman, director for science, technology and education of Skolkovo Foundation, establishing relations is the main task of the centres within universities that require relevant knowledge and competencies. The strengths of the university should be known far beyond its campus. “A responsible approach is crucial in assessing competencies. Universities should develop a public map of their capacities so that potential partners could see the opportunities you can provide.”
HR issue is essential when it comes to joint development of a project with industrial or government partners. For project implementation, old universities often engage lecturers and professors distracting them from their duties, while young universities, such as Innopolis University, employ specialists to manage third-party projects. This approach allows leaving research for researchers, while professors can consult projects without compromising their working process. “There should be a project management team that knows about all the competencies of the university. And, whenever required, bring in narrow specialists who will ensure solving this or that problem,” shared Marina Abdrakhmanova, head of the Technology Transfer Centre at Innopolis University.
Siberian Federal University also develops the Technology Transfer Centre and recruits a team specializing in market analytics, business community demands, and strengthening contacts with major industrial partners.
“The key tasks of the SibFU Technology Transfer Centre are the transformation of the university following modern global trends. We implement Priority 2030 program within which we are working on several R&D projects. I’m talking about cooperation with Nornickel, Rosneft, and RUSAL. There are other promising industrial partners in the region, so the scope of work is wide,” said Ruslan Baryshev, vice-rector for research at SibFU.
Eugene Rogozinsky, director of the Centre for Commercialization of Technologies MISiS (Moscow), believes that universities should consider their historically developed specialization. If they focus on the developed competencies, they will achieve the best results. “Surely, every team has scientists working fruitfully, being cited, and with proper academic performance. However, sometimes such experts cannot or don’t wish to deal with administrative affairs, they are into science. We need to form a team that will take over document management and marketing and will be able to translate fundamental research into the applied plane.”
The participants of the forum will continue discussing the raised questions — form joint workgroups for sharing the experience in forming technology transfer centres or similar structures.