By Daryl Weinert

I recently heard someone bemoan the fact that the public generally views the nation’s universities as stagnant and inaccessible repositories of knowledge rather than as vibrant creators of knowledge. 

Yet, on a daily basis, I experience the University of Michigan as a hotbed of ideas and know-how.  

The  evolution of the engaged university in the United States took a leap following World War II when there was a tremendous increase in federal research support to universities.  This funding supercharged the education of students and played a key role in ensuring the economic prosperity of the post-war boom.

 It also led to the creation of lots of knowledge and by 1980 the federal government was the proud owner of over 30,000 patents.  The problem was, only 1,500 of those patents had ever been commercialized. 

We needed a system that could unlock the potential of all of these accumulating ideas.

 In 1980 the “University and Small Business Patent Procedures Act” (better known as the Bayh-Dole Act) changed everything.  It reversed the presumption of title to the federal government and allowed universities to pursue ownership of inventions enabled by federal funding.

 It also unleashed a torrent of activity: In the 30-plus years after World War II about 1,500 technologies were licensed.  With the Bayh-Dole Act, in just 2007 alone about 5,000 licenses were issued (a 100-fold increase in activity).  Since 1980 the nation’s universities have started over 6,000 spinout companies.

 The University of Michigan is one of those universities and an example of how higher education benefits this state's economy. Through the combination of research quality (the 2008 Times Higher Education World University Rankings placed U-M #18 globally) and research quantity (U-M is approaching $1 billion in annual research expenditures) the university community pumps out hundreds of discoveries each year.

 The Office of Technology Transfer focuses on moving these discoveries to qualified external partners.  The office  consists of a group of professionals trained in intellectual property law, market analysis, technology licensing, and business formation.  They work with U-M faculty and scientists to increase the likelihood that laboratory discoveries can be translated into real world results.

 To do this effectively, the Tech Transfer office cultivates a network of partners including businesses, venture capital firms, entrepreneurs, alumni, consultants, and economic development agencies.  The university also coordinates a collection of “gap funding” sources that can help build a bridge from the laboratory to a commercially viable product.

 

Over the last 10 years U-M has created 2,192 new product ideas that have been “transferred” to companies within 725 license agreements, including 84 new business startups.  Products such as the FluMist vaccine and companies including Arbor Networks and HealthMedia are examples of technology transferred from the university to benefit our communities. 

Today the university scores within the Top 10 of all universities in annual agreements and startups.  These successes have returned license revenues to the university, totaling $25 million in fiscal year 2008 alone.  Much of this revenue get reinvested into further research, education and economic development initiatives to complete a virtuous cycle.

This cycle has been further enhanced by the co-location of Technology Transfer with the Business Engagement Center.  Together these two offices provide a convenient access point for industry and help coordinate the university’s broader engagement with the community. 

When companies sign license agreements negotiated by Tech Transfer, the BEC can build on these agreements and ensure that the license is “just the beginning.”

Pairing the two means that the university can continue to interact with these companies on recruiting, research, student projects and ongoing professional development.

All of this activity creates a far more effective way to connect this state's universities to the business community, enhancing economic development opportunities.

 Daryl Weinert is the executive director of the University of Michigan’s Business Engagement Center. He writes this column monthly for Ann Arbor Business Review.