International Knowledge and Technology Transfer Leadership Summit Convened in Cape Town, South Africa

The Annual Knowledge and Technology Transfer International Leadership Summit, co-organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and AUTM, was held in Cape Town, South Africa, on October 21-22, 2024. This two-day event brought together global leaders in academic technology transfer to discuss and shape the future of the profession. Building on the momentum of previous Summits in Geneva (2022) and Santiago (2023), the Summit in Cape Town focused on exploring practical and policy innovations in technology transfer (TT).

Some highlights of the Summit include the session on incentives in technology and knowledge transfer, where WIPO representatives shared insights from the recently published WIPO Guide on Incentives in Technology Transfer. A panel discussion and breakout session explored how different incentives for technology transfer staff and researchers can boost the innovation productivity of universities and research institutes. Real-world examples and models that successfully increased engagement with technology transfer were discussed, illustrating how institutions can achieve their innovation goals.

The session on Professor’s Privilege and student inventions examined the concept of Professor’s Privilege, which allows public sector researchers to retain ownership of inventions and intellectual property (IP) developed during their employment. This right grants researchers, rather than their employers, ownership of the resulting commercial outcomes. While this approach is common in some European countries, most jurisdictions have laws that grant public research organizations IP ownership to promote technology transfer and commercialization. The discussion also addressed the ownership of inventions by students and non-research staff, a topic that varies significantly across countries and presents unique challenges.

The panel on governmental advocacy training highlighted the importance of raising awareness about technology transfer through targeted advocacy at decision-making levels. Moderated by WIPO, the discussion introduced a new WIPO initiative to develop a comprehensive professional development course on technology transfer advocacy. The course aims to showcase the benefits of technology transfer at the national level, emphasizing the role of research institutions in driving economic growth and societal impact.

WIPO and AUTM will collaborate on a comprehensive final report summarizing the outcomes of the Summit 2024. The previous reports could be found here:

• Geneva, Switzerland (2022): Read the report
• Santiago, Chile (2023): Read the report