In 2012, 3.019 patents were applied in Chile. This is a weak figure if we compare the 652.777 applications made by China o the 542.815, by USA, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WPO). The same year, our country invested 0,35% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Research and Development (R&D), the lowest percentage within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), where the average expenditure reached 2,4%. The national figure is far away from Korea, which led the ranking with 4,36%, followed by Israel (3,93%) and Finland (3,55%).
Given these figures, the Government is interested in promoting innovation through agencies like Corfo. In fact, the current Bachelet administration´s goal is to reach a pich of 0,6% of GDP in 2013, which will be checked in 2015.
But this challenge also impacts in universities. In 2013, 102 patents were requested to the National Intellectual Property Institute (Inapi): 19 made by universities or research centers, 27 legal by juridical persons and 56 by natural persons. Among universities, at the top of the ranking is Universidad de Concepción and at the fourth position, Universidad de Chile.
Improving these numbers means restructuring some operations of university. “If applied research starts to have more volume, not only papers or teaching shall be the factors to assess researchers, but also their contribution to this activity. This would imply difficulties when it comes to differentiate between applied research and consultancy, since results of the first one can only be checked in the long term,” pointed out Jaime San Martín, researcher at the Center for Mathematical Modeling (CMM).
This center of excellence, for instance, seeks to introduce in the market its research results. This is the case of the portable ultrasound scanner, with low cost and 800 grams weight, which has been recently awarded with a Go-to-market –a contest organized by Corfo that seeks to commercialize technologies coming from R&D projects. Another case is the Mobile Monitoring Station, a sensor-filled jacket that keeps track of vital signs, which can prevent effects of accidents and catastrophes in mines. Something similar is the optimization software of energy for the urban railway within the European project Osiris.
“We want to go beyond the prototypes, which are tailor-made solutions. We go directly to the problem, we do not aim to be the owners. And we will go on developing projects for the industry with impact in the society”, explains Alejandro Jofré, CMM director.
Higher education institutions has dived into the innovation ecosystem through the Oficinas de Transferencia y Tecnología (OTL), which protect an transfer the results of the scientific work by advising to scientists about topics such as intellectual property, patenting and business creation. OTL are young and their competences are still limited. The OTL of Universidad de Chile was created in 2002.
The Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (FCFM), meanwhile, established more than 10 years ago Universidad y Tecnología, Fundación para la Transferencia Tecnológica (Untec). This foundation implements applied research projects under commission of public or private entities. Nowadays, as this an independent institution, it does not carry the bureaucratic burden of the State. “Academics prefer working with us due to the administrative benefits that we have”, highlighted Roberto Corvalán, Untec director. He said that private universities – traditional ones and non-traditional ones – have more freedom and agility because they depend less on the governmental structure.
In Felipe Álvarez´s opinion, Vice-Dean of FCFM and director of Ingeniería 2030 project, it’s important to consider what happens in the classroom with students’ skills related to innovation: “Professional abilities such as capacity of integrating information from multidisciplinary domains, innovation, effective communication and working in team are crucial”. Therefore, the Faculty is restructuring its curriculum through courses that since the first year promote project generation.
International experience
In United Kingdom, universities play a key role from the point of view of the triple helix model, which establishes mutual links between the university, enterprise and government. Responsibilities are shared: there is a push from the science and a demand from the technology market, Meanwhile, the State is a catalyst. The University of Cambridge, for instance, has created enterprises that expand a local area of business that promotes technology transfer. Their distinctive feature is the independence, although it is still bounded with the university.
Other interesting experiences come from Belgium, where technology transfer is carried out by enterprises with multidisciplinary teams like Sopartec o Interface, which are bounded with Université Catholique de Louvain and Université de Liège, respectively. Indeed, Belgium has boosted the investment in R&D through public and private funds. In order to create opportunities of collaboration, Universidad of Chile signed an agreement in 2014 with these two universities. Within this partnership a seminar to share experiences was held at CMM in April 2014.
Thus, in United Kingdom as long as in Belgium, transfer involves those who generate knowledge –the university–, those who apply it –enterprise– and those who fund it –investment agents.
“Technology transfer goes beyond patents and rights, since it also implies tools, capital and a business model,” explained Jorge Amaya, CMM researcher. He supports the creation of an entity, autonomous and dependent on the university or the faculty, which would link the three actors of the triple helix model. It would require a high capital seed, which would be financed through overhead of projects -indirect costs to cover administrative expenditures and infrastructure-.
This model would generate its own benefits based on the project itself. It would be an incentive for researchers, since the capital would be invested in other future projects.
Moving the country towards technology transfer requires funds, time and vision. “It is a complex process. Adopting a long term approach is necessary, but not easy, as governments work in very short term”, highlighted Benoit Buntinx, manager of the Belgian company Greenwatts.
Chile will have to face with these and other obstacles such as the lack of a strong industrial fabric or the large number of universities that prevents from properly distributing resources for research. In spite of that, innovation is an issue that is already in the agenda of academics, governmental institutions and private sector.
