Unlocking the potential of academic intellectual assets for industry, SMEs and startups (CSA)

Expected Outcome:

• Enhanced valorisation of intellectual assets, including dormant patents, from universities and public research organisations to support the adoption of green and digital technologies by industry, SMEs and start-ups/spinoffs.

• Development of entrepreneurial skills and increased involvement of students, researchers, and innovators in the valorisation of research results.

• Uptake of effective models and tools to facilitate valorisation of unused IP and intellectual assets and access by startups, SMEs, and innovative companies to this untapped knowledge in public research organisations.

Scope:

Aligned with the European Union's policy priorities, this action will contribute to overcoming the innovation paradox by maximising the impact of public spending in R&I through improved knowledge valorisation practices, and facilitating the uptake of green and digital technologies by start-ups, spinoffs, and innovative SMEs. By unlocking the untapped potential of intellectual assets within universities and public research organisations, and leveraging the creativity of students, researchers, and innovators, the action seeks to improve value creation opportunities deriving from these assets and bolster the competitiveness of European industry.

The action should explore strategies and implement pilots for actively involving students and researchers (including those in social sciences and humanities) in valorising academic IP and intellectual assets. These should include hackathons, workshops and larger-scale “summer camp” programmes, and foresee the involvement of interested industry partners than can be potential adopters.

The action should also identify and test models and tools for easier IP access and utilisation by startups and SMEs. These should cover innovative licensing and other valorisation approaches, especially tackling the issue of unused academic patents, as well as the use of AI to manage and valorise research results and IP.

Proposals submitted under this topic should consider how to exploit synergies with other EU-funded projects covering intellectual assets management, entrepreneurship, and AI for knowledge valorisation. They should also pay particular attention to reducing the gender gap and promoting diversity in knowledge valorisation, and include dedicated measures to foster gender balance and inclusiveness in this field.