Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013, Southeastern Universities Research Association
In 2010, the University of Virginia created a pan-university innovation initiative designed to elevate innovation, entrepreneurship, and translational research as core competencies and key strategic priorities of the institution. A long-time practitioner of “traditional technology transfer”, UVa sought nothing less than a “sea change” in its innovation ecosystem and culture in creating this new innovation platform. Intellectual property is still protected, marketed and licensed (i.e., “traditional technology transfer”). But beyond these activities, the university has nurtured an ecosystem (both within the institution and beyond) which can be leveraged to identify innovation and knowledge assets more broadly and earlier; to advance those assets through proof-of-principle and commercial relevance assessments; and to leverage such assets and relationships to create products, services, companies, and jobs – and value for the university. Along the way, UVa Innovation actively uses its research capacities, social media, crowd-funding, grand challenge competitions, outreach and networking, and relentless “innovation proselytizing” to engage increasing numbers of university students, faculty, staff, administrators, alumni, and supporters in elevating innovation as core competency and focal point of UVa’s mission.