Biotechnology is referred to as one of the key enabling technologies of the 21st century. It has the potential to offer solutions for a number of health and resource-based problems the world is facing, such as unmet medical needs and fossil fuel dependency. Considerable effort and investment has been expended in recent years to try and improve the outcomes of technology transfer in order to fulfill this potential.This book presents seventeen best-practice case studies on the topic of effective technology transfer in biotechnology. The selected case studies focus on technology transfer offices, funding models, incubators, education and clusters. Each presents an overview of an initiative that was deployed in Europe with the aim of supporting and stimulating the transfer of biotechnology discoveries and technologies from research laboratories to society. Readers are provided with a critical assessment of each initiative and policy makers, entrepreneurs, cluster managers and research institute managers will find inspiring lessons they can draw on when developing and implementing similar initiatives elsewhere.These cases are the product of research undertaken as part of the ETTBio (Effective Technology Transfer in Biotechnology) project, co-financed by the European Union (ERDF — European Regional Development Fund) and made possible by the INTERREG IVC Programme. ETTBio commenced in January 2012 and concluded in December 2014.

​Biotechnology is considered as a key technology of the 21st century with the potential to offer technological solutions for global health and resource-based problems. Oliver Uecke analyses how early stages of the innovation process in biotechnology can be effectively managed, with the aim to transfer an innovation from academia to industry. A mixed method approach is applied with a multiple case study approach to identify characteristics for effective management and with the method of discrete choice experiments/best-worst scaling to estimate the importance of these characteristics. This study adds to existing research by identifying a group of five important characteristics that should be considered in the early stages of the innovation process, compared to a group of four characteristics that are less important. The results have implications for policy, directors and the management of research institutes and universities, entrepreneurs, TTO manager and other stakeholders involved in technology transfer.

Humans face the challenge of producing enough food to meet the demands imposed by economic, biological and agricultural factors: rising population; rising income; and an expectation of higher quality food and a more diverse diet; decreasing amount of land available for food production; lowering environmental impact of agricultural practices and preserving biodiversity. Biotechnology is one of the most exciting and dynamic industries of our day. It offers us the possibility of reducing our dependence on intensive farming. Plant biotechnology is central to the search for effective, environmentally safe and economically sound alternatives to the use of chemical pesticides and the exhaustion of natural resources. Today, applied plant science has four overall goals: increased crop yield, improved crop quality, reducing production costs and reducing negative environmental impact. Biotechnology is proving its value in meeting these goals. It offers farmers higher yielding crops with lower costs of production and new outlets such as nutraceuticals and crop-based bio-factories. It offers the European economy the potential of high quality, knowledge based job creation and the European consumer better quality, tastier and more nutritious food. Though there is public concern of genetic engineering, those who are close to the science understand that this is the next big frontier to be crossed. The potential and opportunities offered by plant biotechnology must not be missed. We must go forward on that basis rather than turning our backs on the science.Phytosfere'99 provides a comprehensive overview for plant biotechnology. It combines specific scientific articles, review articles and comments from outside people on it, which is unique in European Literature.

The Effectiveness of University Technology Transfer reviews the numerous studies of the effectiveness of university technology transfer and presents recommendations on how to enhance effectiveness.

This book explores major similarities and differences in the structure, conduct, and performance of the national technology transfer systems of Germany and the United States. It maps the technology transfer landscape in each country in detail, uses case studies to examine the dynamics of technology transfer in four major technology areas, and identifies areas and opportunities for further mutual learning between the two national systems.

Universities are increasingly expected to be at the heart of networked structures contributing to society in meaningful and measurable ways through research, the teaching and development of experts, and knowledge innovation. While there is nothing new in universities’ links with industry, what is recent is their role as territorial actors. It is government policy in many countries that universities - and in some countries national laboratories - stimulate regional or local economic development. Universities, Innovation and the Economy explores the implications of this expectation. It sites this new role within the context of broader political histories, comparing how countries in Europe and North America have balanced the traditional roles of teaching and research with that of exploitation of research and defining a territorial role. Helen Lawton-Smith highlights how pressure from the state and from industry has produced new paradigms of accountability that include responsibilities for regional development. This book uses empirical evidence from studies conducted in North America and Europe to provide an overview of the changing geography of university-industry links.