I went to AUTM at the encouragement of our licensing director and it was one of the best choices I have made in recent years. My decision to go was based upon two key factors; I am actively looking for a job and was in need of a vacation. Conferences have always been good for me to recharge myself and AUTM did more than that.
Most people go to conferences to meet other people who are in similar pursuits so they can share experiences and ideas. AUTM is such a place, but as someone coming from a purely Ph.D. science background, I was particularly amazed by the diversity of people in attendance all working in the technology transfer industry: lawyers, marketing people, business people, administrative people, auditing people, accountants, scouting people, or other scientists like me. Everyone was surprisingly easy to talk to and willing to share their knowledge and perspective. I learned a lot of valuable information, much of it the type of info that one cannot just find online or through reading.
The presentations and workshops are also drastically different from the scientific conferences I am familiar with. There are still data involved in some talks, but most of the talks are light on data. I would break the presentations down into three general categories: (1) innovative ideas on business and partnership between industry and academia, (2) sharing experiences, procedures, and how things are handled in different tech transfer offices, and (3) intellectual property law and IP strategy. In addition to these education sessions, other major events included a “fireside chat with Steve Blank” an advocate of “lean startup” model and a keynote presentation by Steven Johnson host of the PBS TV show, “How We Got to Now”, which focused on the history of innovations. I really enjoyed both events as the topics were so different and refreshing to me.
As for job seeking activities, I was very fortunate to have informal interviews with two tech transfer offices at AUTM and gained several other leads. Hopefully one of these opportunities or leads will lead to something more. All and all, my first AUTM experience was truly wonderful and eye opening.
– Kaifeng (Lisa) Lin