Why Does a University Transfer Technology?

This question is underscored if one looks at the statistics: Few university OTTs generate enough income to justify themselves when measured strictly by revenue. But many other reasons exist:

• Federal Mandate. U.S. government funding may require the university to at least make the resulting discoveries available to those who might commercialize them.

• Equity. A share in an early-stage company that succeeds can eventually be very valuable.

• Faculty recruitment. A significant number of faculty members want to see their results commercialized, for reasons that range from the greater social good, to the opportunity to interact with industry, to the hope of enhanced income from sharing in royalties resulting from the invention's commercialization.

• Goodwill. Faculty and alumni who become business successes, and others in the business world, are more likely to become donors if they recall and see an environment that encourages technology entrepreneurship and business development.^[4]