Although the core duties of an intern, such as prior art assessments and writing non-confidential summaries, are key to developing your knowledge of technology transfer, embracing those unique opportunities with special projects can be a valuable experience as well.
My first “other project as assigned” was to help prepare paperwork for a company that was looking for early stage, small molecule therapeutics for further development. The company had already identified technologies in which they were interested. The paperwork necessary was a blend of a non-confidential summary, prior art search, and market assessment, but with a focus on small molecule development. The task was not difficult, but it allowed me to gain a greater feel for how small molecule therapeutics are developed (skills I didn’t have from my science career) and to get a glimpse into how companies assess technologies for licensing and development.
My second “other project” was to evaluate non-exclusively licensed technologies and identify any potential technologies that were generating reasonable revenue and had the potential to be more broadly licensed. I was allowed (forced) to use some creativity to determine the best way to present the massive volume of numbers I was working with and present the information at a weekly case manager’s meeting. In the end, I had a better understanding of our technology database, and more importantly, all the work required to manage an active license. License compliance is an important part of post-licensing monitoring, and it takes a lot of time.
While there is no guarantee that you will be assigned a “special” project, I was fortunate to have the opportunity. I feel strongly that part of the reason I was given this opportunity is because I already had a strong grasp of my core responsibilities as an intern. So, when you begin your internship, focus on the training and develop a strong base in the most important aspects of the position, but remain open to other possibilities. Often, these tasks can provide some of the greatest learning opportunities you will have during your internship.
– Jeremiah Mitzelfelt