University entrepreneurship in South Africa: Developments in technology transfer practices

Abstract

Although formalised practices of technology transfer at research institutions are well established in many developed countries, these practices are still very much in their infancy in South Africa. The country is however currently focused on improving technology transfer activities and measuring the performance thereof, as exemplified by the recent implementation of a new intellectual property act. In support of the latter and in an effort to obtain an accurate overview of the status quo of technology transfer in South Africa, it was decided to evaluate organisational structures and key factors determining successful technology transfer at 13 publicly funded research institutions. It is recommended that technology transfer practices in South Africa be further strengthened through the expansion of dynamic collaborative networks and communities of practice. Crucial to these objectives is the development of appropriate metrics for measuring the successes and impact of technology transfer, taking into account the socio-economic and institutional specificities in South Africa.

Activities Pivotal for the Sustainability of Newly Established Technology Transfer Offices: A Case Study of Publicly Financed South African Universities

“…On the other hand, Alessandrini et al [50] who interviewed personnel dedicated to technology transfer at PFSAU found that low levels of IP awareness (including of the benefits of protecting and commercialising research) amongst researchers have contributed to the low number of actionable IP/invention disclosures and the low conversion of patents to commercial products or licences. These authors also revealed that top management within the universities is vital for success of newly established TTOs and consequently suggested that a top-down approach would be most beneficial by promoting awareness of IP amongst the executives.…”

Entrepreneurial Intentions of Research Scientists and Engineers

“…A number of recommendations have been made for how technology transfer offices can support academic entrepreneurs, such as connecting the university-based founders to experienced entrepreneurs from outside the university, and helping them find suitable team members to join the start-up [37]. On the other hand, frequently cited institutional barriers to academic entrepreneurship include accessing capital markets, access to resources, the national intellectual property rights (IP) regime, and government regulations [3,13,35,38]. Not only does SA have a relatively small domestic market, especially for technology products, but large multi-national companies dominate its economy, where limited seed and early-stage funding is available for start-ups [39].…”

“…Correspondingly, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) fostered a National System of Innovation (NSI) through a number of policy interventions [2]. As a result of such initiatives, more universities have established technology transfer offices for the purposes of increasing the commercialisation of university intellectual property [3,4,5]. It is increasingly recognised that academics need to be entrepreneurial to be successful in research, teaching, engagement in practice [6,7], and the commercialisation of academic knowledge [8,9].…”

“…Despite the research funding allocated to universities and public research organisations or science councils, only a small percentage of research outputs are commercialised in SA [10,11]. The support provided by technology transfer offices generally concentrates on the identification and protection of new intellectual property, with much less focus on start-up formation [3,7]. Additionally, not only is there a poor or lack of awareness and understanding of the technology innovation process in SA -including the commercialisation of inventions [10] -but the low rate of start-ups in South Africa has been attributed to many institutions' preference for licensing to established companies.…”

Transferring intermediate technologies to rural enterprises in developing economies: a conceptual framework

“…The majority, however, concerns the transfer of proven production technology to facilitate lower cost manufacturing (Waroonkun and Stewart, 2008;Thumanoon and Paul, 2006). More recently, the research field has broadened to embrace technology transfers from universities to industry that comprise a wider scope of technologies including new and still unproven solutions (Alessandrini et al, 2013). The focus of technology transfer from universities to industry has predominantly been on innovation (i.e.…”