Technology evaluation and licensing : a literature review and an assessment of the Portuguese universities technology transfer practices

To improve the access to information about practices supporting the application of research results we looked at strategies and methods described on the literature review and in use by technology transfer units (TTUs) having in mind a set of questions underlying the processes of technology evaluation and licensing in universities. The research questions gave us the opportunity to understand the TTUs degree of selectivity in the protection of inventions, the factors at the origin of licensing agreements and its main obstacles, the main evaluation methods and payment modes and they also gave us the opportunity to know the universities at study structure of dividend distribution. Underneath the answer to this questions we affirmed that the development of complete and demonstrable turnkey solutions and products decreases the investment risk and makes the technology more attractive to potential licensees, and we concluded that only knowing the economic value of an invention can we fully exploit its full potential and can we carry out an appropriate technology valorization strategy.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

A study on the performance of technology transfer units

Universities are increasingly institutionalizing activities related to technology transfer and one of the main institutional mechanisms that has emerged is the “technology transfer unit” (TTU). Many of them are focusing their activities on the management of the university intellectual property. Studies have investigated factors that seem to affect their performance, but few have looked in detail at internal procedures and techniques that are used in their processes related to technology evaluation and licensing. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of some of the several steps that comprises the processes regarding technology evaluation and licensing, providing an analysis of the critical issues that affect each step of the process. A review of the literature was made, complemented with interviews to seven university TTUs, which was used as a check and a complement to the literature review and as way of perceiving from an insider perspective, the problems and issues that this paper wants to emphasize and to state clearly

Technology evaluation and licensing in Portuguese Universities

Universities have adopted knowledge valorisation strategies to foster the practical application of research results. Technology transfer offices have been implemented in almost all European universities to evaluate, protect and support the transfer of university’s research outcomes. To this end, technology evaluation and licensing activities have been widely adopted and implemented by technology transfer units, allowing universities and inventors to obtain revenues through the establishment of technology transfer agreements. In order to understand this process, and improve our knowledge on specific practices that support technology transfer activities, we looked at strategies and methods used by seven technology transfer units in Portuguese Universities, and one non-university research institution. The sample was defined according to an intentional non-probabilistic sampling technique, utilizing two main criteria: the dimension and the regional influence of the higher education institution. One of the institutions is an R&D organization that is not part of the higher education system, and the rationale for its inclusion was the purpose of obtaining complementary and comparative information. The main research questions were: what is the degree of selectivity of the TTOs in the protection of inventions? What evaluation methods are used? What are the factors that are behind the licensing agreements? Scoring sheets and semi-structured personnel interviews were used to collect information. The results obtained are analysed, in an exploratory manner, under the light of conceptual ideas advanced by the literature. The behaviour of technology transfer offices that are part of universities is compared with the technology transfer behaviour of the R&D institution that is not part of the higher education system. The specific context of Portuguese reality is considered.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Avaliação e licenciamento de tecnologia em Universidades

Dissertação de mestrado em Engenharia Industrial (área de especialização em Avaliação e Gestão de Projectos e da Inovação)A protecção e transferência de direitos de propriedade industrial permitem conjugar as características singulares de uma invenção com as necessidades e interesses de desenvolvimento económico das empresas transformando-se a produção científica e tecnológica em novos ou melhorados produtos e processos. Tendo em vista este fim, as universidades têm adoptado estratégias de valorização do conhecimento que favorecem a aplicação prática de resultados de investigação. Neste âmbito, as actividades de avaliação e licenciamento de tecnologia permitem aos inventores e à universidade obter proveitos por via do estabelecimento de acordos de transferência de tecnologia. Com a finalidade de compreender este processo e melhorar o acesso a informação sobre práticas concretas de apoio à valorização das actividades inventivas tomamos por objecto de estudo a avaliação e o licenciamento de tecnologia em universidades. Esta abordagem deu-nos a possibilidade de identificar e apresentar métodos e estratégias de aperfeiçoamento e promoção das actividades de unidades de transferência de tecnologia e deu-nos uma visão integrada das práticas de valorização do conhecimento que fundamentam esta dissertação.The protection and transfer of intellectual property rights allows the combination of the unique features of an invention with the needs and interests of companies’ economic development, converting scientific and technological production in new or improved products and processes. Foreseeing this end, universities have adopted knowledge valorization strategies to foster the practical application of research results. In this context, technology evaluation and licensing activities allow inventors and universities to obtain revenues through the establishment of technology transfer agreements. In order to understand this process and improve access to information on specific practices to support the inventive activities we took the assessment and technology licensing in universities as an object of study. This approach gave us the opportunity to identify and present methods and strategies to improve and promote the practices of technology transfer offices and gave us an overview of the practical value of knowledge valorization activities underlying this dissertation

Prov exponential decision method

To select the best alternative of solution for a problem considering the decision-maker knowledge, preferences and purposes, we developed a new multicriteria decision-making procedure, the PROV Exponential Decision Method, which uses the concepts of preference, indifference and nefarious thresholds. Its presentation is the main focus of this article. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the proposed approaches to attain comprehensible results and to discover the most adequate solution or set of solutions for a problem or to select the best option to reach a defined goal.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Editorial

[Excerpt] T his new issue of Perspectives tackles the issue of geopolitical strategy, when in a midst of war in Europe, that is the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, these issues have regained particular and utmost importance by the nature of geography and political will and intervention. The first article by Paulo Fontes deals with the geostrategic position of the Azores archipelago, on the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It analyses its evolving nature, specifically of Azores in Portugal, and its relation between Europe and the US, and also the relation between Azores and mainland Portugal. The article namely focuses on the autonomy status and legal bindings related to the Portuguese Nation-State, and their roots of an insularity culture

Quality management practices to direct and control the accomplishment of project objectives in R&D units

Projects create value and capabilities for organizations and beneficiaries of their outcomes and must be managed by implementing quality processes to assure an execution compliant with plans, activities, and applicable standards, and to accomplish the defined requirements and objectives in an efficient and effective manner. This study analyzed the frequency of use of quality management practices by companies with R&D units and compared them with project management students expectations of implementing quality project management practices as a professional. The data was collected using an online survey, and twenty-six quality management practices have been analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, following standard procedures, and using the Independent-samples T-Test. For twelve out of the twenty-six practices, significant differences have been found between the two samples, five referring to quality planning practices and seven referring to quality control practices. For the twelve quality management practices, project management students had greater expectations of implementing them, in contrast to the actual frequency of use among the surveyed companies. The results can provide inputs to improve project management practices among companies, reinforcing the importance of training and recruiting project management professionals that have the required training, talent, and aligned expectations on how to successfully manage projects.- (undefined

Letter to the editor: the concept of dignity in non-institutionalized elderly people cared for in primary health care: a preliminary empirical model

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Axe eAtlasudoe: penetration d’internet dans les foyers une analyse comparative des régions d’Aragon, de Lisbonne et de Midi-Pyrénées

En 2004, la moitié des européens affirment avoir utilisé Internet. Les moins de 24 ans semblent être les plus adeptes, avec 75% d’entre eux qui naviguent régulièrement plus ou moin sur la toile. En 2005, environ un foyer européen sur deux possède une connexion Internet. Au cours des vingt dernières années, l’informatique et l’Internet ont bouleversé l’économie, la recherche scientifique et l’administration au niveau mondial. Les réseaux informatiques maillent progressivement l’ensemble des territoires. Les politiques publiques centrées sur la Société de l’Information ont un rôle à jouer dans ce domaine. Les TIC représentent un des moyens de lutter contre l’exclusion sociale. Afin de mieux observer la diffusion des nouvelles technologies, le programme européen eAtlasudoe a pour objectif de transmettre aux chercheurs et aux acteurs publics des informations sur l’évolution des usages des TIC. Une équipe, formée de trois universités et de trois observatoires régionaux, a choisi de constituer une communauté de travail pour rendre compte de l’émergence de la Société de l’Information sur les territoires du Sud-Ouest européen. Les membres du projet sont répartis sur trois territoires : - Midi-Pyrénées, en France - Aragon, en EspagneRégion de Lisbonne, au Portugal1 Un des enjeux du partenariat est d’analyser les différenciations territoriales afin de déceler « les bonnes pratiques », les points positifs de ces trois régions dans le domaine des TIC, et les freins des non-utilisateurs. Parmi six axes de travail étudiés par l’ensemble des partenaires, les observatoires se sont engagés à mettre en commun des indicateurs sur un thème précis : la pénétration d’Internet au sein des foyers. Cet axe vise à s’interroger sur l’évolution des usages Internet des ménages, la connexion haut débit, etc. En terme de méthodologie, des interrogations restent en suspend, notamment concernant la structure de l’échantillon, le panel : qu’entend-on par foyers ? Interroge t’on un foyer au complet ou un individu au sein d’un foyer ? Ce dossier rassemble le travail qui a été réalisé sur les TIC dans les foyers par les trois observatoires régionaux. En première partie, nous découvrirons un panorama général sur l’utilisation d’Internet au niveau européen et national. La seconde partie concerne l’étude réalisée par le biais du partenariat eAtlasudoe, rassemblant des données chiffrées des trois territoires.N/

Viral genetic clustering and transmission dynamics of the 2022 mpox outbreak in Portugal

Pathogen genome sequencing during epidemics enhances our ability to identify and understand suspected clusters and investigate their relationships. Here, we combine genomic and epidemiological data of the 2022 mpox outbreak to better understand early viral spread, diversification and transmission dynamics. By sequencing 52% of the confirmed cases in Portugal, we identified the mpox virus sublineages with the highest impact on case numbers and fitted them into a global context, finding evidence that several international sublineages probably emerged or spread early in Portugal. We estimated a 62% infection reporting rate and that 1.3% of the population of men who have sex with men in Portugal were infected. We infer the critical role played by sexual networks and superspreader gatherings, such as sauna attendance, in the dissemination of mpox virus. Overall, our findings highlight genomic epidemiology as a tool for the real-time monitoring and control of mpox epidemics, and can guide future vaccine policy in a highly susceptible population.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio