Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 1999

However, unlike developed countries and regions where technologies wou ld be licensed to companies willing to take them up without the universities being involved in either the i n c o r po r a t i on or the management of the c omp a n y, H o n g K o ng is s t i ll r e l a t i v e ly unprepared in this aspect. Thus there is a gap in midstream, where inventions originating from universities are not effectively taken up by the industrial sector. In cases where ready licensing to existing companies is not viable, the University has f ound it beneficial to either incubate these projects in-house, launch spin-off companies on its own, or encourage the launch of start-ups by project staff. To Ensure Proper USe of Public Money And in the launch of spin-off companies, the University has certain policies to adhere to, to prevent relevant enterprises from gaining an unfair market advantage. First, it is a rule that no public funds w i l l be invested into these companies. It is also strictly observed that any company formed by the University or in which CUHK takes an equity is operated independently, ensuring that public funds for education are insulated from enterprises. Last but not least, the University recognizes that the ultimate goal is to seek commercial partners; once that is achieved it will pass the management and majority share of the relevant company to other investors at the earliest opportunity. Howsuccessis Gauged Some may view the success rate of commercialization of research products as a performance indicator for universities. However, experience world-wide shows that only a small percentage of applied research is ever commercialized, and of these only a small percentage w i l l be commercially successful, w i t h failure more often than not attributable to factors other than the merits of the technology. Therefore it is important not to judge the entire technology transfer sector simply i n terms of eventual commercialization or profitability. As the stories that follow on pages 6 to 17 show, other impacts on the University and on the community are equally if not more important. Such impacts may include closer collaboration between academic institutions and the industries for the promotion of innovation and high technology, increased foreign investment to stimulate value- added economic activities in Ho ng Kong, improved services from the public and private sectors, and a much heightened interest among Hong Kong students to engage in academic and applied research. Research and Technology Administration Office The Research and Technology Administration Office (RTAO) is the primary office responsible for research administration and technology transfer. All intellectual property rights, unless and until assigned, are administered through the office. Apart from assisting staff members in introducing their new technologies to industries and exploring the commercial potential of their research products, the office is responsible for the management of all contract-related matters such as advising and vetting licensing and contracting arrangements. Its director has delegated authority to sign contracts on behalf of the University, subject to approval by the supervising pro-vice-chancellor. As a central point in coordinating the administration of research and technology transfer activities, RTAO is ready to assist all who approach them for help. An agreement being reached between the University and Molecular Technology Innomed Limited (MTI), allowing MTI to use and further develop a technology developed by the University to identify Chinese medicinal materials and differentiate them from their adulterants, using DNA. From left: Mr. Thomas Cheng, chairman & chief executive officer of MTI; Mrs. Alice Yip, director of RTAO; Prof. Jun Wang of the Department of Biochemistry. 4