Knowledge and Technology Transfer - Challenges in Cooperating -

Knowledge and Technology Transfer

- Challenges in Cooperating -

• Understanding an Entrepreneur• Understanding the needs of the market• Clarify Research• Simplify Bureaucracy• Understand what an entrepreneur offers you• IPR

How to get there?

Challenges of Collaboration with SME

Possible obstacles: • Structural differences

• Different goals

• Different ways to get there

• Systematical differences

HEI – SME interaction in applied research is an essential tool in the context of knowledge transfer

Challenges of Collaboration with SME

• Trust

• Professionalism

• Awareness

• Commitment

Social implications for troubleshooting:

Challenges of Collaboration with SME-SME Structure – Understanding an SME-

To work together with SME it is important to get a sense of their decision processes

Management

Private Customers

Business Clients

Intern

Sales Buying Center Logistics

Matrix Organisation

Management

Sales Buying Center Logistics

Hierarchy

Challenges of Collaboration with SME-SME Structure – Understanding an SME-

• Time is money

• Understaffed SME’s.

• Management unable to delegate.

• Competitive pressure.

Most SMEs have very limited capital, human or financial. They are very time-constrained

Challenges of Collaboration with SME-SME Structure – Understanding an SME-

Being your own boss is a dream of every company owner. Unfortunately it is to remain that way– merely a dream

Challenges of Collaboration with SME-SME Structure – Understanding an SME-

What to expect from an SME:

• The key driver-financial benefit

• Reasonable timeframes

• Owner/manager holds multiple responsibilities

• Intimidated by legalese

• Impatient

Pragmatism might be the word – and the key!

Challenges of Collaboration with SME-SME Structure – Understanding an SME-

• SME owner/managers are pragmatic

• “Real world” players

• They are used to disappointment

• Firm, but fair

• They value honesty

SME’s are a very interesting partner for your research

Challenges of Collaboration with SME-SME Structure – Understanding an SME-

• SME owner/managers are intuitive

• SME owner/managers can make decisions quickly

• SMEs are very agile

• Usually prepared to embrace new ideas

• Many SMEs have very limited capital, human or financial.

• Time is literally money – 6 months is forever

Challenges of Collaboration with SME- Summary – Understanding an SME-

• Outside pressures can shipwreck an SME e.g. bank, Increasingly return has to be within a timeframe that an SME can justify to banks and investors

Challenges of Collaboration with SME-Summary – Understanding an SME-

Multi-tasking!(Finance Director, marketeer, researcher....)

Challenges of Collaboration with SME-Summary – Understanding an SME-

• Operate in an extremely competitive environment• Often obsessed about protecting IPR

Challenges of Collaboration with SME-Summary – Understanding an SME-

• Usually strong connection to particular region – may be culturally constrained

Challenges of Collaboration with SME-Summary – Understanding an SME-

• Entrepreneurs can be intimidated by legalese

Challenges of Collaboration with SME-Summary – Understanding an SME-

• Entrepreneurs hate bureaucracy!

Challenges of Collaboration with SME-Summary – Understanding an SME-

• Entrepreneurs are impatient (so make boundaries clear from the outset)

Challenges of Collaboration with SME-Summary – Understanding an SME-

• Understanding an Entrepreneur• Understanding the needs of the market• Clarify Research• Simplify Bureaucracy• Understand what an entrepreneur offers you• IPR

How to get there?

Challenges of Collaboration with SME-Understanding the needs of the market-

Customer needs are a part of innovation. This is called market orientation – or if you are an SME: Surviving.

• The Market

• The Customers

• Innovation

Challenges of Collaboration with SME-Understanding the needs of the Market-

• HEIs don‘t understand the Current Market

• Trust the SME

• SMEs have to Communicate

• SMEs must Convey

Trust and communication

Challenges of Collaboration with SME-Understanding the needs of the Market-

• Narrow thinking in businesses

• SME focuses on what makes them excited

• As an SME grows in size, the more difficult it becomes to be innovative

• The collaboration of a HEI and SME better satisfies the market!

http://academicearth.org/lectures/innovate-in-technology-and-business-founding-google

• Understanding an Entrepreneur• Understanding the needs of the market• Clarify Research• Simplify Bureaucracy• Understand what an entrepreneur offers you• IPR

How to get there?

Challenges of Collaboration with SME-Clarifying Research-

• Distinction

• Increasing tension

• Emphasis on research teams and alliances

• Growth of research commercialization

Changing research practices.

• Understanding an Entrepreneur• Understanding the needs of the market• Clarify Research• Simplify Bureaucracy• Understand what an entrepreneur offers you• IPR

How to get there?

Challenges of Collaboration with SME-Simplifying HEI Bureaucracy-

• Universities not well informed

• Not sufficiently focused

• Pre-disposition towards US solution/ methods

There is a subtext in current technology transfer policies and the media

Challenges of Collaboration with SME-Simplifying HEI Bureaucracy-

• Taking a proactive, outreaching role

• HEIs can be very intimidating for SME’s

• R & D should be established.

• R & D involved in collaboration.

• Establish a visible “entry point”

• Guide SMEs

Challenges of Collaboration with SME-Simplifying HEI Bureaucracy-

• Given that research practices are changing and the pressures to deliver significant outputs are intensifying, “[t]he key question is how to structure and organise teaching and research in the universities” (Gibbons et al, 1994).

Challenges of Collaboration with SME-Simplifying HEI Bureaucracy-

• Build strategic alliances and enable synergies

• Help with public funding

• Integrate entrepreneurial culture

• Shape what should be done

• Optimal use of scarce resources

• Align institutional competencies

Challenges of Collaboration with SME-Simplifying HEI Bureaucracy-

• Map priorities and competences

• Identify goals and objectives

• Implementation plan

• Appropriate structures

• Encourage faculty

Challenges of Collaboration with SME-Simplifying HEI Bureaucracy-

• Widen definition of research.

• Determine the teaching and research

• Distinguishing

• Linking research/ commercialization

Challenges of Collaboration with SME-Simplify HEI Bureaucracy-

• Greater research time

• Targeted grants

• Promotional opportunities

• Enhanced facilities

• Internships with industry or other partners

• Salary increases

• Sabbatical leave

• Understanding an Entrepreneur• Understanding the needs of the market• Clarify Research• Simplify Bureaucracy• Understand what an entrepreneur offers you• IPR

How to get there?

• Prepared to embrace new ideas (but only if the benefits are obvious)

Challenges of Collaboration with SME- What an entrepreneur offers you -

• Intuition for what has commercial potential and what hasn’t

Challenges of Collaboration with SME- What an entrepreneur offers you -

• Pragmatism: • Can handle disappointment • Can make decisions quickly

Challenges of Collaboration with SME- What an entrepreneur offers you -

• Understanding an Entrepreneur• Understanding the needs of the market• Clarify Research• Simplify Bureaucracy• Understand what an entrepreneur offers you• IPR

How to get there?

• What is Intellectual Property?

• What rights do I have concerning IP?

• And what is an IP Agreement?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvWEvkom-8s&feature=related

Challenges of Collaboration with SME- Intellectural Property (IP) -

• Be knowledegable

• Establishing a commercialised relationship

• The process

An essential aspect of collaboration with a SME is working together with them in protecting your innovations.

Challenges of Collaboration with SME- Intellectural Property (IP) -

• Substantial confidentiality agreements

• Seem to exclusively focus on protecting the HEI

• SMEs can’t always afford to appoint solicitor specialists

Challenges of Collaboration with SME- Intellectural Property (IP) -

• Entrepreneurs:– Are often reluctant to open up and share ideas (Crown

Jewels)– Need to be reassured that they will benefit - building a

trusting relationship is essential

Challenges of Collaboration with SME- Intellectural Property (IP) -

• Entrepreneurs are: – Easily spooked – Turned off by weighty confidentiality agreements – Suspicious that agreements will favour the HEI to their

detriment– often unwilling to appoint specialists to check agreements

Challenges of Collaboration with SME- Intellectural Property (IP) -

Summary of Presentation

Posed challenges:

-Structural differences

-Different goals

-Different ways to get there

-Systematical differences

HEI benefits:

-Extra income

-Seed money

-Better teaching

-Satisfaction of work

End Results

Everybody’s happy…

• Highly qualified personnel

• Wonderful innovation systems

End Results

• Commercialization of Research

• Publication Opportunities

• Legitimacy

• Image

• Public Funding

The type of collaboration and results we are striving for!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Leh74zliLyw