Strategies and Practices for Overcoming Obstacles to the Effective Commercialization of Student Innovation on University Campuses

Abstract

We synthesize knowledge about the policy and practices and infrastructure available for technology transfer of student inventions. Our joint consideration of intellectual property protection and business and legal support services has tried to overcome some of the traditional functional and knowledge silos.

Looking forward, we recommend that independent and comprehensive measures be developed to assess the performance of each university with respect to its student commercialization policies and practices. Do comprehensive and student-centered IP policies make a difference in creating certainty for student innovators and confidence in the institutional infrastructure to support commercialization?

Previous researchers have studied the connection between patents and on campus commercialization. Future research must differentiate student commercialization from faculty commercialization. Additionally, other indicators related specifically to student centered innovation in Canada must move beyond patents to include other forms of intellectual property, such as copyright and industrial designs. Further, given that universities are measured by learning outcomes, we recommend that universities include learning outcomes connected to experiential entrepreneurial opportunities. If a purpose is also to create an entrepreneurial culture, and students who are better able to identify and seize venture opportunities, then we must also consider indicators over time that reflect the true impact of developing a student-centered entrepreneurial culture. The university learning culture supported by strong student centered policies and practices will develop a more enduring entrepreneurial spirit in Canadian graduates.

Finally, more work needs to be done in relation to measuring the effectiveness of various models for providing independent legal advice to student innovators with the view to ensuring that students are given timely, meaningful and cost-effective access to legal support so that their rights and interests are properly addressed.