University-based research is becoming increasingly important for economic growth according to Michael Crow, Columbia's executive vice provost and nationally recognized expert on technology transfer, who spoke at New York State's first Technology Transfer Summit on Oct. 4 in Albany. The University helped sponsor the event, Oct. 4-5, which brought together nationally recognized university technology transfer leaders to share experiences and best practice models.

Top experts from around the country shared their perspectives on the best ways to succeed in the marketing of scientific discoveries and innovations. The conference provided a broad overview of the most important issues that are required to successfully administer a technology transfer office, facilitate invention and successfully commercialize products and services by research in the university.

Crow imparted his vision for the future of technology transfer and the vital function of academic institutions in shaping that future, describing how Columbia is maximizing the impact of technology transfer with the goal of identifying, securing and leveraging its intellectual assets that have the capacity to be used as knowledge capital in the economy.

"The traditional venture capital organizations model provides financing that combines money and management with technology to create new companies and build new technology-based industries. In the emerging model of venture capital organizations, you need not only money, management and technology but you also need knowledge. Academic institutions can play a role in providing that knowledge capital," said Crow.

Columbia's annual investment in its research programs includes over $300 million from the federal government and other sponsors. In addition, the University commits significant internal resources, including funds for laboratory construction and renovation as well as research projects. These funds are derived from school operating budgets, endowments and gifts, and the income from Columbia's intellectual property. Columbia currently holds over 400 patents, and licensing earned from intellectual property came to $143 million in 2000, the highest of any university in the United States.

Crow described the various elements of Columbia's technology transfer office, Columbia Innovation Enterprises (CIE), and its efforts to enable knowledge transfer from university research to industrial partners who use that knowledge to create new products and processes that benefit society. CIE includes Science and Technology Ventures (S&TV), created to facilitate the transfer of scientific discovery and innovation from the university setting into the marketplace and to ensure that both the inventor and the University's research and educational activities benefit from that transfer; Digital Knowledge Ventures (DKV), which focuses on the digital media, and International Innovation Initiative, a new initiative currently being developed to build networks among universities and other knowledge-creation organizations.

The summit offered workshops on the role of university-based technology transfer in job creation, building a successful technology transfer operation, launching new business through technology transfer and discussions of exit strategies, intellectual property issues and product development.

Other sponsors were Cornell University, the New York State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR), the State University of New York and the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities.