Fostering Technology Transfer, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship from the Perspective of a Public University

Abstract

The goal of a technology transfer of fi ce should be to encourage technology transfer, innovation, and entrepreneurship. For a public university, those goals must also be aligned with the university's mission as a teaching and research institution. This chapter describes some of the activities in the University of California system and at the University of California, Los Angeles campus in fostering technology transfer, innovation, and entrepreneurship in support of research, education, and public service. These include a new proof-of-concept fund, an on-campus incubator, and a growing student internship program. Technology Transfer from a Public Research InstitutionThe University of California (UC) system comprises ten campuses (Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz) which include more than 234,000 students, more than 207,000 faculty and staff, 50,000 retirees, and more than 1.6 million living alumni. As a public institution of the State of California, the UC is committed to teaching, research, and public service as its core mission. Whereas each campus and its technology transfer of fi ce have their own speci fi cally de fi ned mission statements, a theme central to all the campuses and technology transfer of fi ces is to not only maintain the UC's core mission in its technology transfer practices, but to actively complement the core mission through technology transfer.