TTO (Technology Transfer Office) Division

The Division supervises activities aimed at protecting and promoting research results, encouraging their use through commercial exploitation in collaboration with companies (licences, transfers, co-development) or through entrepreneurial initiatives (spin-offs). The Division is aimed in particular at researchers, accompanying them through the various stages of technology development, with a focus on technological maturity levels between TRL 2 and TRL 6. The Division works closely with all the Departments' Offices, in particular with the Legal Support for Research and Innovation Unit, and with other University Departments, promoting a cross-cutting and synergistic approach.

The Unit is responsible for defining strategies for protecting research results, supervising the management and maintenance of intellectual property rights and their subsequent exploitation through internal university initiatives (spin-offs) or commercial exploitation in collaboration with companies (licences and/or transfers). In particular, it carries out technical evaluations of academic research results in order to define the most suitable IP protection strategy; it manages the University's patent portfolio and plans exploitation strategies, including through the promotion or design of PoC programmes; it coordinates the University Patent Commission; it negotiates and enters into any licence/transfer agreements to promote the commercial exploitation of academic research results; it manages the financial aspects of IP protection services and PII exploitation contracts; it supports training and information for researchers and assists the Spin-off Unit with regard to the IP component of the Office's activities; it monitors the economic impact and returns for the University and inventors deriving from technology transfer activities.

The Unit supports the creation and development of knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial initiatives. The Unit works in synergy with researchers, the IP Strategy and Research Enhancement Unit and other University Offices, as well as with the innovation ecosystem - incubators, VC funds, public and private funding bodies - accompanying projects throughout their life cycle, from entrepreneurial awareness to the establishment of spin-offs. In particular, it supports entrepreneurial teams, designs dedicated tools and pathways, it coordinates the Spin-Off Commission, it facilitates access to networks and funding, promotes training programmes and PoCs, it handles communication and event organisation, and it monitors the economic and employment impact of initiatives.