G’day!

In a radical move to help society benefit from University research, UNSW has recently decided to make valuable technologies available to business and innovation partners FOR FREE – an approach called “Easy Access IP” –  read more.

Our goal is to let the world know about our technologies, researchers and laboratories so that value can be created through strong business partnerships. This is why we were excited to partner with the iBridge Network^TM. The iBridge Network^TM is a simple, convenient, way for organisations to find new technologies for the benefit of their business – EasyAccess IP community.

The University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, “down-under” is also seeking Open Innovation partners to help develop breakthrough technologies. As a partner you’ll also have direct access to over 5000 researchers, access to breakthrough technologies and access to world-class laboratories. UNSW is one of Australia’s leading research and teaching universities, ranked in the top 50 universities worldwide.

So now when you think of Australia, “down-under”, we hope you will consider partnering with UNSW.

Cheers,

Steve

Dr Steve Brodie is the Open Innovation Manager with NewSouth Innovations (NSi) the Technology Transfer Company of UNSW. s.brodie@nsinnovations.com.au – www.nsinnovations.com.au

As we enter into 2011 there is still much cynicism and debate about the state of innovation here in the U.S. and abroad. What ingredients are needed to spur it? What geographies will lead the way? What should be government’s involvement? What is the private sector’s role? Will the global economy get back on track? We will fail? Will we succeed? 

However, no matter where your opinion happens to fall on the optimism – pessimism spectrum, it is hard to not feel some glimmer of hope when you consider the amount of great thinking, new cutting-edge products and technologies, and amount of incredible innovations on display in the first two weeks of the year at both the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas and the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit.

CES was the venue for 20,000 new product introductions from 2,700 different companies including names such as Motorola, Corning, Cisco, Energizer, Netflix, Xerox, Samsung and Hewlett Packard to name a few. In addition to some really snazzy new technologies and devices, many other topics and issues central to innovation were introduced and discussed including open access, broadband spectrum, wireless video, the need for improved K-12 schooling, changes in tax policy, and a focus on free trade.

One week later in Detroit, thousands of key opinion leaders from the global automotive industry including CEOs and executives from Porsche, Ford, BMW, Volvo and others met for 72 hours and witnessed the worldwide debut of nearly 40 vehicles and also exchanged ideas and strategies that affect global economics.

From our perspective here at the iBridge Network, it is great to see that innovation is alive and leading to tangible outcomes that can (and already are in some instances) boost the economy, create jobs, and make us safer, connected, entertained, educated and informed. It is also promising to see the sheer volume of collaboration, access, resources, and bright thinking taking place and making all of this possible.

While opinions may differ on how all of the pieces should fit together and what role all parties should ultimately play, one thing is clear after 18 days of the New Year : There are a large number of business and government leaders who care about our future and are already focusing on results. Now that is a reason for optimism.  

The iBridge Network also cares very much about the future of innovation and is truly invested in further helping many of these companies, institutions, universities, and entrepreneurs to turn ideas and research into commercialized products. Speaking of a tremendous first few weeks of the year, we have already signed 10 new members, bringing the total number of member organizations to 122. Stay tuned for more news and details on that in the coming weeks.

A Time for Reflection and Looking Forward
 

It’s that time of year again…a time to look back and reflect on all that was accomplished throughout the year, and also a time to look ahead with a renewed sense of passion and excitement at the next 12 months.

For the iBridge Network, 2010 was a year of great success and momentum. We continued to serve as an innovation hub for entrepreneurs, universities, organizations and industry by providing access to the right people, the most appropriate resources and the brightest thinking. We began the year with 3,700+ members and we finished with nearly 5,000 spanning across 119 organizations including four of the top five, seven of the top 10, and 19 of the top 25 research universities in the United States. Since our inception we have talked a lot about putting ideas, access, transparency and outcomes at the forefront of today’s innovation agenda and we are pleased to say that in 2010 we added nearly 4,000 innovations to the site and had nearly 160,000 visitors check out what we were doing.

Additionally, we established working partnerships and collaborations with: Knowledge Sharing Systems (KSS) to interface KSS TechTracS® to the iBridge online community, enabling universities and research institutions to better highlight their intellectual property portfolios; and recipients of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA), a consortium of 46 medical research institutions dedicated to enhancing the efficiency and quality of clinical and translational research, to seamlessly join users of CTSA’s CTSA-IP initiative with more than 100 other research institutions around the world.

Furthermore, we also implemented our previously announced relationship with the USA National Innovation Marketplace—which is supported by the US Department of Commerce’s NIST/MEP Network and Eureka! Ranch International—to enable innovation and research listings from non-profit organizations to coexist on our site, allowing for even more exposure and collaboration opportunities for them.

And, what is perhaps our most exciting endeavor of the year, we continued our international expansion! In November 2009 we signed the acclaimed Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore’s leading science and technology university, as our first international member organization. We carried that momentum into 2010 with the addition of Toronto’s University Health Network and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.  

Of course, none of this would be possible without the unwavering support and participation of all of our member organizations as well as the commitment of our passionate employees and advisors. We want to thank everyone involved in making 2010 a huge success for iBridge and for innovation and we look forward to continuing our efforts and working with all of you in 2011. Happy Holidays!             

Hopefully everyone was able to see our very own Lesa Mitchell talk about the iBridge Network on CNBC, if not check out the homepage of the iBridge Network! Lesa and I were both in Detroit for the New Economy Initiative, the goal is to build 400 companies in the next 3 years, if you do the math that is a new company every 2.7 days! The iBridge Network is a huge part of this opportunity and is the base for a lot of the programs taking place in Michigan! We were in front of 500 emerging entrepreneurs that are very excited to use the Network as a source for finding new innovation and collaborators!

Yes, we have finally done it. Click here to find more information about the partnership and how you can take advantage of this great effort.

We have just announced our collaboration with the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center (MTTC), an organization that promotes the efficient and effective transfer of knowledge and technology developed at academic institutions in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

We are very excited to have a partnership with a group of some of the leading academic researchers and universities in the country. They include:

Baystate Health, Inc., Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Biomedical Research Institute, Boston College, Caritas St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Joslin Diabetes Center, Inc., Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, McLean Hospital, Schepens Eye Research Institute, Tufts University, Tufts-New England Medical Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, University of Massachusetts-  Amherst, University of Massachusetts-  Boston, University of Massachusetts-  Dartmouth, University of Massachusetts-  Lowell.

We are excited to continue partnerships of this kind, if you are interested please contact me at Katie@iBridgeNetwork.org.

Recently AUTM released numbers that are no guarantee, but seem to lead to the conclusion that TTOs will continue to do well in spite of the recession. As Abi Barrow, director of MATTO (an iBridge member), points out in The Journal of New England Technology, we must wait and see. The President’s stimulus package may make an impact, particularly in the areas of life sciences and cleantech.One thing that can help universities is marketing of the technologies that they have, making it easier for third-parties to find what they are looking for…something the iBridge Network has, and continues, to emphasize!

We are so excited to be working with Ben Franklin Technology Partners who is sponsoring seven research universities to use the iBridge Network to find collaboration partners, and to distribute and license items including software, research tools, databases, teaching materials, and patent-protected technologies. While several of the universities are all just getting started on the Network, the seven universities (with links to their profile pages) include:

• Drexel University
• Duquesne Unviersity
• Lehigh University
• Northeast Pennsylvania Technology Institute
• Pennsylvania State University
• Temple University
• University of Pennsylvania

Be sure to check back to see the new things that they have posted, or simply “follow” these universities on the iBridge Network with the iBNewsfeed to get personalized e-mails when these universities have posted new information.

To follow the universities simply click the iBNewsfeed link on any of their pages. The link looks like this:

To learn more about this relationship, be sure to check out our recent press release on the subject!

Latest headlines say Girls can do math! I knew it! Studies from the University of Wisconsin show the huge gap that once stood between boys and girls in math is gone. That is crazy exciting news for schools, universities, companies, well, anyone. There is a particular program taking place at one of our member schools, New Jersey Institute of Technology focusing on girls in areas of math and science. The program called Femme is open to 150 female students and five classes for girls in fourth through eighth grade. The once before statistic of girls falling 50 points behind boys in math has disappeared partially because of technology, such as texting and downloading. Teachers are jumping on the opportunity to ride the wave and show youngsters that math and science is the way to even more technology.

Interested in early stage innovation and entrepreneurship? We thought so! The Larta Institute is hosting the 14th Life Sciences Venture Forum on May 30 at the Santa Clara Convention Center.

The Venture Forum is the largest – and longest running – showcase of early stage innovation and entrepreneurship. We hear that it is the must-attend event for those seeking access to the best quality deals from around the world. As Larta Institute’s landmark annual investment and partnering event, it is expected to showcase the most promising seed & early stage life science opportunities.

As one of the iBridge Network’s members, we know how robust Larta’s pipeline is, ranging from research funded by the National Institutes of Health to some of the most promising university spinouts from across the US. At the Venture Forum, the companies are carefully selected by a panel of leading investors and subject matter experts to ensure that each presenting company offers a solid and profitable business opportunity.

Sound good? You can receive a 30% discount off the registration fee, until May 16, 2008. Register now at http://theventureforum.com/registration.asp and use coupon code IBVF08 to take advantage of this special offer.