UOIT awarded $360,000 in funding from Ontario Society for Excellence in Technology Transfer

Significant financial support will provide additional technology transfer resources for commercial development of promising university research discoveries

Thanks to $360,000 in funding from the Ontario Society for Excellence in Technology Transfer (OnSETT), the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) will be playing a key role in addressing the need for commercialization expertise at Ontario's universities and research institutions. As part of the Ontario Partnership for Innovation and Commercialization (OPIC), UOIT will be participating in Crossover, a three-year Professional Development and Mentoring of Commercialization Managers Program aimed at recruiting experienced personnel from a broad range of disciplines including life sciences, engineering and information technology and placing them in technology transfer and commercialization roles.

The Crossover program is being funded by the Ministry of Research and Innovation through a $2.2 million grant recently awarded to OnSETT through the Ontario Research and Commercialization Program (ORCP). The grant is being used to hire and train experienced professionals in the commercial development of promising discoveries generated by university research.

The program and its respective funding will enable Szanne McNutt to join the Office of Research Services at UOIT in the role of technology transfer officer. McNutt, who has a Masters degree in Biotechnology and direct technology transfer experience through her work with the universities of Toronto and Western Ontario, will report directly to Michael Szarka, manager of Technology Transfer and Commercialization.

Technology transfer, which refers to the movement of technology or scientific discoveries from public universities and research institutions to the private sector, enables academic institutions to utilize business knowledge and skills to develop their discoveries into products or services.

McNutt will be responsible for working with the university's faculty members to identify potential intellectual property; assessing inventions to determine if they are appropriate for management and further investment; developing commercialization strategies; and negotiating research contracts and technology license terms among other duties.

OPIC is a university-based consortium of seven institutions including UOIT and Ryerson, Trent, Brock, Lakehead, Laurentian, and Nipissing universities. As an OPIC representative for this initiative, McNutt will also be responsible for managing OPIC-wide promotional and educational events and the development of various collateral materials. Another new technology transfer position at Laurentian is also being created through this award.

OnSETT is a member-based professional association representing the 29 academic research institutions with technology transfer offices across Ontario. The organization's mission is to enhance commercialization outcomes through the sharing of best practices.

"UOIT is being recognized for its commitment to conducting outcome-focused interdisciplinary research and development that will impact social, environmental, health and economic challenges," said Szarka. "Through OnSETT's funding and the Crossover program, Szanne will be able to share her unique knowledge and experience, further strengthening our technology transfer abilities and efforts to translate research into viable applications that benefit society as a whole."

The initiative immerses participants in the complexities of advancing university research further along the development pipeline, with professional development and mentoring expected to greatly enhance Ontario's pool of highly trained individuals in their specialized fields.

"Despite the OPIC universities' rapid increase in research intensiveness and awareness of technology transfer, they continue to be understaffed in these functions compared to the demand for service," said Kamiel Gabriel, associate provost of Research at UOIT. "With this funding, members of the OPIC network and UOIT in particular will be able to grow both their individual and shared expertise and better focus their efforts on bringing research-based solutions to market."

Program participants with expertise in a specialized field may also devote up to 25 percent of their time to other Ontario institutions in need of short-term assistance with specific projects.

"This is a key step for OnSETT in building a community of practice," said Duncan Jones, managing director of OnSETT. "Individual technology transfer professionals across the province will tap into the networks, knowledge and expertise residing in other offices. This, in turn, will enhance the commercialization efforts of all OnSETT members."

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