“We look at universities as a
subculture in a barter economy.”
Dr. Tim Cook,
Oxford graduate and managing director of Isis, the first spin-off
technology transfer company wholly owned by the University of Oxford
in England, says commercialization “should not interfere with
teaching or with the acquisition of new knowledge or research. We
look at universities as a subculture in a barter economy.”
The role of a
university is to grow intellectual property that must be used for
public benefit, according to Dr. Raymond Dwek the director of
Oxford’s Glycobiology Institute and co-holder of more than 70
patents. Research universities are essential to nurturing the talent
that could devise cures, but the academic world has been hesitant to
forge ties with industry, he admits.
In the U.S.,
the Association of University Technology Managers was formed in the
1970s in response to concerns that inventions funded by the
government were not being commercialized effectively. The
association, which facilitates collaboration between industry and
universities, represents more than 350 universities and research
institutions to help in licensing innovations.
