Innovation & Technology Transfer
Innovation, Technology Transfer & Research Centre Development (ITTRCD)
Introduction
Innovation occurs when ideas are put to use in a manner that improves practice, whether in a professional community or in society at large. Innovation, Technology Transfer & Research Centre Development (ITTRCD) is a department set up by Koforidua Technical University. We work to support the transition of the fruits of KTU research into practice by the most effective means. Paths for innovation include open publication, enabling others to make direct use of our results, collaboration with user communities in industry and elsewhere, and cultivation of paths to commercialisation.
Objectives
The establishment of the department by KTU facilitates the reorientation of public research sectors toward the needs of the private sector, and supports a framework for increasing the efficiency of future investments in research and innovation.
The main objective of ITTRCD is to stimulate collaboration between the public research and development (R&D) sector and the private sector in order to commercialise R&D and promote technology transfer.
What we mean by innovation
Innovation to KTU is a service and orientation that provides a connection between the institution and industry by availing the University's expertise and inventions for the public good, promoting economic development and increasing research visibility. Innovation, to KTU, is the entirety of newly developed ideas and inventions — both internal and external — their economic implementation and their impact upon the broader society and the world at large.
KTU's ITTRCD is a university-wide resource for innovation, connecting our research with the businesses that commercialise inventions. It is also KTU's intellectual property and technology licensing office, preparing faculty and students to transfer research into practical applications, and helping to create business strategies that build success.
Through the Intellectual Property Policy, KTU encourages open dissemination of ideas and recognises and rewards faculty, staff and student inventors and authors. The policy confirms the University's ownership rights under law, but also recognises exceptions that preserve the academic tradition of faculty ownership of certain scholarly works.
Technology transfer
KTU's technology transfer focuses on the transfer of knowledge and research results from laboratories to the commercial world. KTU's ITTRCD raises awareness of the subject, informs community members about the possibilities of commercialisation, searches for and records potentially usable research and development results, offers evaluation of their inventions, helps to find suitable commercial partners and provides intellectual property protection services.
This component of the department's services supports the establishment of a centralised Technology Transfer Facility (TTF) within the institution's innovation framework, employing international and local experts to stimulate and coordinate technology transfer of both internal and external R&D activities. A critical focus of the department is therefore its support services to local Technology Transfer Offices, research and development bodies and innovation support organisations, in a bid to enhance their capacity and effectiveness.
Our technology transfer services include
- Transfer of technology or ideas from place to place — including the transfer of research data both to and from KTU, whether grant funded or not
- Commercialisation of technology
- Commercial licensing
- Research commercialisation
- Patent filing
- New business start-ups
- Incubation projects
- High-level enterprise coordination and relationship establishment
- Exhibition and promotion of innovative ideas and projects
- Institutional innovation and technology transfer awareness creation
Facilitation of research development
The department is also mandated to facilitate the establishment of research centres that focus on unique institutional, community, national and international areas of importance. It facilitates four kinds of research centre:
Services for researchers
We encourage researchers to contact us for advice and assistance on research transfer and innovation management, enterprise collaborations, research centre establishment, new business start-ups and incubation projects. The ITTRCD, together with the University, is usually a partner in such a company and helps to:
- Increases knowledge at the University about the possibilities of commercialising research and development results
- Helps research teams find suitable industrial partners for joint scientific research projects
- Trains and assists in the intellectual property protection process
- Informs about the conditions of establishing and financing start-up companies associated with KTU, and guides the process of their creation
In conclusion
The ITTRCD Office is dedicated to protecting and commercialising intellectual property in a manner beneficial to the researcher, the University and society, supporting the technology transfer process in KTU and the nation as a whole. We expect the various research centres to have their own models for managing and creating the innovations that will make them more versatile, evaluating technical and commercial possibilities for new processes and services.