October 14, 2020
Boosting Innovation Through Intellectual Property Initiative
Initiative Institutes a Tech Transfer Program to Protect Ownership Rights
MEDIA CONTACT: Damita Chambers, dchambers@bowiestate.edu, 301-832-2628 mobile
(BOWIE, Md.) – To boost the vitality of the region’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, a Bowie State University initiative launches this week to lay the framework for faculty and students to bring their innovations to market, while protecting ownership rights of their research and creative solutions. The launch event will take place Friday, Oct. 16 at 12 p.m.
BSU’s Innovation & Intellectual Property Initiative will expand the university’s capacity to support innovation by establishing a technology transfer program to protect intellectual property generated by faculty and student researchers, as well as develop processes to commercialize it. This initiative aims to promote and market BSU’s research capabilities within the business community.
“I believe there is a responsibility for the university to provide faculty, staff and students with information about intellectual property,” said Dr. Anika Bissahoyo, BSU’s assistant vice president for research in the Office of Research & Sponsored Programs. “For our faculty, I want them to see that there's a way to not only work on the research that they love, but there might be a commercial or licensing aspect to it. Or it could even spin out into a company. We wanted to make sure they had the processes in place to do that.”
Working with an external consultant, staff from the Office of Research & Sponsored Programs and the BSU Entrepreneurship Academy[BROKEN LINK] will develop a strategic plan to support a sustainable entrepreneurship and innovation community. The plan will provide a roadmap for researchers who develop new innovations with the potential for commercialization. Initiative staff and the consulting firm will engage with faculty and staff to identity intellectual property generated from BSU’s research and entrepreneurship initiatives and academic courses, including student capstone projects, while determining opportunities for commercialization.
The one-year initiative will take place in four phases and continue to build on BSU’s infrastructure for research and entrepreneurship, with a long-term goal of establishing a university office to operate the technology transfer program. The initiative will also provide university-wide education on intellectual property policies and processes, such as requirements to disclose intellectual property in federally funded research.
“Through this initiative, we want to better connect the university to the regional entrepreneurship ecosystem and our industry partners,” said Johnetta Hardy, executive director of the BSU Entrepreneurship Academy. “Bowie State is in a great location in proximity to government agencies and corporations that are looking to solve problems. We want to position the university community to say, ‘Let us help you solve them.’”
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About Bowie State University
Bowie State University (BSU) is an important higher education access portal for qualified persons from diverse academic and socioeconomic backgrounds, seeking a high-quality and affordable public comprehensive university. The university places special emphasis on the science, technology, cybersecurity, teacher education, business, and nursing disciplines within the context of a liberal arts education. For more information about BSU, visit bowiestate.edu.