Technology Transfer in Operation at Connecticut
Tuesday, September 7th, 2010
We see universities as places where people are trained to provide manpower for various industries. Actually, universities have another role, research, which also can help industries. Many of the research findings that emerge in university labs might have practical applications.
For the practical applications to materialize, however, the technology should be applied to produce things that have a market. In addition, the technology needs to be transferred from labs into production floors. This typically involves scaling up the lab processes into full-fledged production processes.
Applying new technology to develop marketable products, and the engineering involved in scaling up lab operations to production operations, is basically what we call as commercialization of technology.
In Connecticut, schools are working with state and industry officials to create incubator programs for businesses in the high technology areas such as biotechnology that can, for example, help develop more effective treatments for diseases.
An example is the University of Bridgeport that has the largest engineering school in the state. Its faculty and students are involved in major research projects, such as a project to develop unmanned aerial vehicles for the army.
The University has now joined Connecticut Innovations Inc. (CII), the state’s quasi-public authority for technology investing and innovation development, to set up CTech IncUBator that has begun accepting applications from hopeful entrepreneurs.
Read the full report at conntact.com.
Tags: business, connecticut, incubator programs, technology transfer
Posted in business, mentoring, skills training, technology commercialization | No Comments »
Demands from Indigenous-Originally-Rural Peoples
Monday, April 19th, 2010
All of us are descendants of people who were originally dwellers of forests and rural communities. Technology developments might have pushed all memories of those ancient habitats beyond even occasional thoughts. Yet, most of us might feel some semblance of sympathy for the people who have no access to the technologies and its benefts.
It is in such a context that the demand of the indigenous people of Bolivia helps us to view things in a new perspective. At a conference in the city of Cochabamba, Bolivia on March 29th and 30th 2010, the Indigenous-Originally-Rural Peoples and Social Organizations of Bolivia agreed up certain actions.
They demand that developed nations fulfill and revise the commitments they had assumed under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, regarding the development and transfer of technology.
It was clarified that the technologies must be clean, environmentally sound, accessible for all developing countries. The demand went on to add that the transfer process must not be subject to profit, and rejected the proposal of developed countries of creating a “technology pool” where instead of transferring technology, it is put to sale at inaccessible costs.
A second demand was for the creation of the Climate Justice Tribunal and the imposition of sanctions by this Tribunal on States that do not fulfil their commitments of development and transfer of technology.
Read about the conference details and additional demands at World People’s Conference of Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth.
Tags: clean technology, fruits of development, indigenous people, technology transfer
Posted in environment, technology transfer | 1 Comment »
