Marie Kerbeshian, vice president of technology commercialization at Indiana University Research and Technology Corp., is leading workshops and speaking at international conferences April 14-29 in China. She shares her thoughts about her first stop: Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, where she is speaking at the 14th China International Talent Exchange Conference.
Shenzhen is a very young city. It was a farming village only a few years ago and now its population reaches into the millions. Because it is so new, there are none of the ancient, traditional Chinese sites you would expect. All hotels, restaurants, and manufacturing are on the outskirts, and there are trucks travelling back and forth between Shenzhen and Hong Kong. An interesting fact: in mainland China you drive on the right, and in Hong Kong the left, so the drivers have to be prepared for the switch.
The technology transfer training is going well. Today Dr. Xin Bu talked about how to grow technology transfer in China – he is also the Vice President of the World Association of Technology Managers – as did Jason Wen, a native of China who directs the technology transfer office for Boston College. Jason focused on the basic model of tech transfer in the U.S. The audience is concerned about two issues: 1) how do you get faculty to work with you and 2) how do you structure equity deals in license agreements. Tomorrow I speak, focusing on how to market technologies, form partnerships and the fine points of university intellectual property.
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