COLLECTIVE TRANSFER & MEDTECH

Technology Transfer to Companies

Since its implementation in 2008, the Fraunhofer Portugal Research Association has developed Scientific and Technological Knowledge Transfer initiatives to promote the results of its applied research projects. However, it was necessary to increase this type of dissemination to the community of companies and entities that usually deal with technology transfer to achieve more notoriety and visibility.

We helped Fraunhofer Portugal (FhP) with the “Collective Transfer Project” with technology dissemination and demonstration activities encompassing a model of good practices in technology transfer for the Portuguese Innovation system. The objectives of Collective Transfer FhP were to reinforce FhP’s ability to transfer scientific knowledge with a view to its economic valorisation and to disseminate and disseminate knowledge and technologies generated in FhP’s R&D to the business community.

We produce several studies to analyse the potential for the economic valorisation of Fraunhofer technologies in the AAL and IC4D areas. In these studies, we present market research and possible commercialisation strategies for some identified companies hypothetically interested in licensing the technology or other types of agreements.

For financing, we prepared an application successfully approved by the European funds (EU/ERDF) relating to technology transfer from NORTE 2020, which allowed the implementation of the project with a co-financing of 436.6 thousand Euros.

In the Medical Technology area, to fill the gap between R&D results and the technological Medical Devices market, we also developed and prepared the application for the MDevNet project – National Network for Knowledge Transfer of Medical Devices. The project’s central objective was to value the knowledge developed in the area of Technology-Based Medical Devices in a vast group of entities in the R&I system through agile and effective technology transfer processes for the business fabric. Considering the new European regulatory framework and the existing context costs in Portugal in this sector, it became necessary to respond with a new model for transferring scientific and technological knowledge. This initiative included the creation of a national network of partners, including public authorities, consumer groups, R&D organisations and companies involved in the commercialisation and distribution within the technological medical devices industry. MDevNet also promoted collaborative research for incremental innovations (new design and better usability), using existing MD solutions in Fraunhofer’s laboratories to obtain more attractive MD solutions for the market.

For financing, we prepared an application successfully approved by the European funds (EU/ERDF) relating to technology transfer from COMPETE 2020, which allowed the implementation of the project with a co-financing of 727.6 thousand Euros.