29 October 2002

Launch of PRAXIS: The UK University Technology Transfer Training Programme

A unique technology transfer training programme - in which experienced practitioners from universities, industry and government volunteer to pass on their skills to more junior transfer technology staff - will run its first course next month.

"Introduction to Technology Transfer" will run in Bristol on November 12 - 15, the first course organised by Praxis, the UK University Technology Transfer Training Programme. Praxis has been established through the support of the Cambridge-MIT Institute (CMI) - the pioneering partnership between the University of Cambridge and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - and the willingness of volunteer teachers and organisers to give up their time.

Technology transfer - ensuring that the results of university research are made available for the benefit of the economy and wider society - is a fast growing area. However, the increase in technology transfer activities has led to a growing demand for staff in the UK, and for training to equip them with the necessary skills. A Bank of England report published earlier this year found that there are over 1200 technology transfer professionals in the UK, but a lack of resources for training them.

The Praxis programme, which offers a range of courses led by experts from universities, industry and government, will help meet this demand.

The idea for Praxis was suggested last year by Lita Nelsen, Director of MIT's Technology Licensing Office, and David Secher, Cambridge University's Director of Research Services, while Lita was working in Cambridge. A former president of AUTM (the Association of University Technology Managers), Ms Nelsen thought their course model might be relevant to the UK. "For the last 10 years," she says, "AUTM volunteers have organised and run short courses on the basics of licensing and the basics of spinouts from universities. The courses have been very successful."

At the same time, the need for more technology transfer training courses was also being expressed at meetings of CMI's National Competitiveness Network (NCN). This brings together representatives of the Science Enterprise Centres at UK universities, and regional development agencies, to discuss issues around technology transfer, intellectual property and the teaching of enterprise skills.

And so the decision to create Praxis, with start-up funding from CMI, was made. A committee involving experienced technology transfer professionals from many UK universities and other technology licensing groups was then set up and has worked together to design the programme.

David Secher says: "There is increasing recognition that successful technology transfer is critical to the process of improving the UK's business performance, as well as benefiting society. This exciting new development meets an important national need. We are using CMI resources to get the programme started but plan that Praxis will subsequently become self-sufficient, and fully integrated into the UK technology transfer agenda."

Professor Alan Hughes is Cambridge Programme Director of CMI's National Competitiveness Network. He says, "We are very pleased to be involved with the Praxis programme. CMI has an important role to play in helping to identify concerns common to UK universities and regional development agencies, including the need to provide more technology transfer training. In providing seedcorn finance for this programme, and in working with other universities and technology licensing groups, and drawing on the expertise of the Technology Licensing Office at MIT and the Technology Transfer Office at Cambridge, we are helping find solutions."

One of the speakers on the Bristol course is Jeff Skinner, Commercial Director of University College London, who has been actively involved with over 50 spin-out companies including Ionix Pharmaceuticals, Biovex, Inpharmatic, Ark Therapeutics, and Rodaris. He says, "There is an increasing need for people who have the skills to transfer technology from universities to industry.

"This course is being taught by practitioners in this field who have a wealth of hands-on experience, and can use this to pass on their knowledge to junior technology transfer staff in a very real, down-to-earth way. The training courses run by AUTM in the US have been very popular and very well regarded. It is great that CMI is taking the lead in funding the start up of similar courses in the UK, and that experienced technology transfer staff are giving up their time to make it happen".

Another speaker is Sean Walton, a Partner with European and Chartered Patent Attorneys Mewburn Ellis in Cambridge, who will be giving an introduction to patents and other intellectual property rights. He says: "UK universities are active places where lots of people are coming up with very good ideas. But there is a real shortage of staff to help advise on the exploitation of those ideas and how to turn them into products that can have a real benefit - like making use of advances in cancer screening methods to help patients. I am sure that the Praxis courses will help address that shortage, and will give technology transfer staff an opportunity to advance their skills and their knowledge. "

For more information please contact:

Rachel Simpson, CMI, Tel: +44 ( 0) 1223 327207