Technology transfer between universities and companies: two cases of Brazilian universities

What is it about?

Universities have a history based on the contribution to the advancement of knowledge and technology on the economic and social context of a country, through teaching, research and extension courses. The knowledge developed by students and researchers can lead to the interaction within different entities, including the government and companies, resulting in a technology transfer from the university to the market. Technology transfer can be considered a process which starts by the disclosure of an invention followed by its patent registration, licensing, commercial use of the licensed technology, and, finally, royalties received by the university. This article researched how technology transfer occurs, based on the Schumpeterian approach to innovation trilogy focusing on the interaction between the university and the company. The methodology used for this study was the analysis of two cases with exploratory and qualitative approach. The case study subjects were two Brazilian universities: University of Campinas (UNICAMP) and University of Vale do Rio dos Sinos (UNISINOS). Semi-structured interviews were employed as the data collection technique, while content analysis was used as the analysis technique. The main results showed the need of companies and universities to understand that working in collaborative technology research contributes to the transformation of applied research into technological innovations that can transform society.

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