Many scientists who obtain their PhD through rigorous coursework and excruciating time spent in the lab are unaware that they can apply their technical expertise in the burgeoning field of technology transfer. I am in the midst of this challenging transition from academia to technology transfer which means entering an entirely new world, one with which scientists, like myself, are very unfamiliar. Fortunately, I am in the trustworthy hands of the team at Emory University’s Office of Technology Transfer (OTT). Their internship program features introductory crash-courses that teach up-and-coming technology transfer professionals the lay of the land, from the basics of marketing and intellectual property to assessing real world technologies, their market size and potential patentability.
The crash courses on marketing and the patent/intellectual property law sections were highly comprehensive. The first course helped translate the marketing language into something we could understand by detailing the vernacular we would use during our time in the program. After we felt comfortable with marketing, the Emory Patent Group introduced the cohort to the broad field of patent law in a course that covered everything from how to read patents to interpreting patent claims. It was very interesting learning about the exacting nature of patents, specifically the legal implications between the words “comprising” and “consisting” which, to the untrained eye, seems almost inconsequential.
We completed four of these courses, which provided us a well-rounded knowledge base from which to grow our abilities in technology transfer. In order to prove that we could apply this information to real world problems, each one of us was asked to prepare an internal evaluation of a newly disclosed technology at Emory. We then presented and discussed our assessments to the cohort and licensing team using our newly acquired marketing and patent law knowledge. After each of our presentations, the licensing team gave us valuable feedback on how to improve our analyses for future real-world applications.
From the start of our internship, we have been putting these skills to the test by working with different licensing associates. As we progress through the internship we continue to learn how to communicate effectively in our new field of technology transfer. I’m confident that my fellow Emory OTT interns agree that we are very appreciative for the thoroughness of our initial training program — not only for our internships but also for our job searches and careers long down the road.
– Eric Owens