Universities incubators can help in licensing technologies by IP (Intellectual Property) commercialization, especially in developing countries because of the difficulty involved in gaining the Intellectual Property (IP) for original work. Companies can be incubated in these institutions, be accorded all the resources they need to succeed and later on be accessed by the public.
The universities primarily provides the facility to nurture young (startup) firms during their early months or years. They usually provide affordable space, shared offices and services, hand-on management training, marketing support and, often, access to some form of financing.
Licensing technologies are easier and faster where companies and universities incubators can come into an agreement about the terms which they will proceed with. The process is also facilitated by the quick acquisition of the required documents.
Universities have the required resources to get involved in new companies. Flooded with youthful, goal-oriented and intelligent young minds, they should be actively involved in this phase of development.
More than an academic degree, but a social movement
Today’s university students want more than academic degrees; they aim to launch businesses, develop new products and start social movements. They are enrolled in courses and attend sessions in functionally distinct classrooms, libraries, and student unions. Universities incubators become a new means for idea exchange on campus. With these strategic partnerships between universities and industry, students are connected to startups, investors and other collaborators they might not otherwise encounter.
The goal of commercializing this process is a business master plan that benefits both the parties involved, universities and the business communities. The backbone of any developing nations research and development is the public sector research institutes and the university which together forms the core of Research and Development (R&D) of these nations.
These collaborations of the two institutions mean that there will be new jobs, increased funding in universities and the creation of new companies.
Universities incubators could license existing companies
There are realistic expectations between these two institutions. They know the risks that are involved in this endeavor, time investment involved and resources allocated to such projects. Researches that are publicly funded, therefore, should come up with better, efficient and less expensive ways of achieving their goals.
Therefore universities and public research institutions should favor licensing out to existing companies and third party start-up companies and get involved only in the higher-risk strategy of investing the institution’s own time and resources to create a spinout company, This saves time and resources involved.
Inventors are usually self-motivated, goal-oriented, innovative, creative and flexible in their reasoning but more often, have not intentions of venturing into business with their ideas. This might be because of fear of the unknown in business risks or just not passionate enough to venture into these activities.
Universities incubators ensure that they have a large pool of resources for startups
Well-managed incubators will ensure that they end up succeeding. This benefits both the individuals involved and the universities greatly. It also spurs the development of the economy of the developing nations and a large pool of funds is generated for university through partial share ownership of the companies started and incubated in their institutions.
Universities are looking at ways to prepare students for socially meaningful, not only money-focused careers. More than academic degrees, university students are envisioned to be building up the future by launching their own businesses, developing new products and start social movements.
Universities incubators are ensuring that their programs are not only competitive but also relevant. They are actively involved in attracting and retaining entrepreneurial students, faculty, and researchers; and forging connections between industry and institutions.
