
 University technology transfer - why so difficult? - wglb
http://dondodge.typepad.com/the_next_big_thing/2010/04/university-technology-transfer-why-so-difficult.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheNextBigThing+%28The+Next+Big+Thing%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
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jpdugan
My own experience in this area suggested another, more fundamental problem.

In the commercial world, we expect any idea to fail many, many times before we
figure out how to make it work for the market. We embrace, rather than
stigmatize, failure. Academics are conditioned to view failure as, at best,
deeply embarrassing and, at worst, career-ending.

My experience is, of course, anecdotal, so take it for what it's worth. The
researchers I met cared more about science than money, and because they
perceived the commercialization process as potentially damaging to their
academic careers, they threw a huge fit when technology transfer was broached.
In the end, the university backed off (which warrants another discussion
altogether).

