News and Events > Colorado Technology Commercialization Partnership Wraps Up Second Summer

Colorado Technology Commercialization Partnership Wraps Up Second Summer

September 1, 2003

The TTO concluded its second summer of the successful Colorado Technology Commercialization Partnership (CTCP) program. The program, funded in part by the Robert H. and Beverly A. Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at UCB, and the Colorado Institute of Technology (CIT), is designed to expedite the process of technology commercialization by forming teams to examine CU inventions. The teams were lead by student interns and TTO staff and engaged volunteer advisors from the Front-Range professional business community. These advisors included prominent IP attorneys, venture capitalists, seasoned business professionals, and technology domain experts.

The 2004 summer program marked an expansion of last summer's pilot. The TTO hired a more diverse group of students with broader backgrounds to create an even more interdisciplinary approach to university technology commercialization. In all, 10 students from each of the three CU campuses examined nearly 50 cases, solicited a dozen new invention disclosures and wrote 20 business assessments. By involving students with more diverse technological backgrounds the TTO was able to solicit disclosures from faculty in departments who have not previously worked with the TTO. As a result, the TTO's disclosure rate is expected to increase 20% this quarter. In addition, the program has reported several licensing deals in the works and four potential start-ups. The CTCP was also able to engage CU affiliate and partner organizations such as the Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities, NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Cooperative Institute for Research and Environmental Sciences (CIRES) in the technology transfer process.

For the CTCP program TTO hired four MBA students from UCB. This summer, both graduate and undergraduate level students participated in the program. For the first time students from The Bard Center for Entrepreneurship at UCD and UCHSC were involved in the program. Areas of academic discipline for students ranged from MBA's to Engineering undergrads to a student with a Masters in Public Health. Several of these students provided such valuable work to faculty inventors and entrepreneurs that they are continuing to work with TTO and the start-up companies during the fall semester.

The CTCP program is a collaborative approach to technology transfer and is expected to continue into the foreseeable future. During the last two summers, the CTCP program recruited over 75 professional volunteers to provide advice on commercialization strategies. Efforts to work with the business community go beyond these summer programs and have been established as a major focus for TTO. If you would like more information about the CTCP, or would like to volunteer as an advisor, please contact David Allen at 303 735 1688 or david.allen@cu.edu.