On September 17, 2018 Foresight’s Founder, Dr. Phyllis Speser, will speak at the Swedish Network for Innovation & Technology Transfer Support (SNITTS) conference “Innovation by Collaboration.” She will be presenting the keynote titled “Replacing Money with Sustainability: Ethics, Metrics, and International Collaboration”
Learn more about the conference and session here: http://www.innovationbycollaboration.se/ibyc-2017-2/program-ibyc-2018/
As a Senior Advisor to the President of King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Dr. Phyllis Speser has been teaching spin-outs how to work trade fairs to gain initial customers along with Eliza Stefanow, a senior member of KMUTT’s technology transfer office, and Dr. Chanikarn Wongviriyawong, CEO and founder of EatLab, a spinout based on applying advanced AI algorithms for image processing and big data algorithms to create a more effective and less expensive way of determining likely product success and rates and extent of market penetration in the food processing and restaurant sectors. The training took place at Thaifex, a huge trade show for food and beverage manufacturers throughout Asia. The training emphasized seeking beta testers who would be willing to coauthor articles in trade publications and place orders if the technology worked as promised. As part of the training Eatlab landed several potential lead customers.
Foresight Chair of the Board, Dr. Phyllis Speser, was the closing keynote speaker at the 2018 ASTP Annual Conference in Liege in May 25, 2018. Her talk focused on future challenges for technology transfer. Noting that most TTOs lose money for their institution or lab, and most technologies never make it to market, she questioned the wisdom of focusing on licenses and revenues as key metrics. She noted that the emphasis on money and licenses distracted attention from social impact, such a reducing illness, mitigating climate change, providing clean energy, and so forth. Social impact, she went on, can be measured in terms of United Nations European Union, and national government priorities. Such an emphasis would allow TTOs and their institution to demonstrate their utility to the public and political decision makers in ways money does not. It would also better align TTO activities with the common perceived mission of a university, government lab, research hospital or non profit lab, namely creation and dissemination of knowledge for the good of all. She encourage the attendees to engage in a thought experiment on their portfolios, looking at how they would manage them differently if maximizing positive social impact and the dissemination of knowledge were their primary metrics. How would it affect how they dealt with student entrepreneurs and educational activities within the university or other institutions? She concluded by looking at potential new models for structuring TTOs given such shifts in priorities.
Posted on February 22, 2018
On February 18-21 Foresight Science & Technology participated in the AUTM Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Dr. Phyllis Speser, Foresight’s Chair of the Board and Dr. Konstantin Izvolsky, Director of Consulting and Training were also part of the AUTM panel “International Collaboration Models for Technology Transfer” as the Moderator and Presenter respectfully. Other panel presenters included: David Ai, City University of Hong Kong, Nares Damrongchai, Thailand Center of Excellence for Life Sciences, Shawn Hawkins, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Eliza Stefaniw, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi.
The globalization of modern economy results in the expansion of international collaboration between universities, research institutions and businesses around the world. Foresight’s own discussions with international clients emphasize the importance and growing interest in international collaboration. To address the interest of our clients in this aspect of the technology commercialization Foresight makes the introduction to the international collaboration a part of the training course on the basics of technology commercialization. Currently this training course is presented by Dr. Speser to the TTO staff and industrial liaison managers in King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) in Thailand.
The panel discussed the importance of considering the cultural differences and specifics in dealing with global partners. The key point, emphasized by all panelists is the importance of blending the unique cultural advantages offered by each individual country with the heavily westernized global business culture to build and maintain the efficient and productive the long-term partnerships.
One of the panelists, Dr. David Ai from City University of Hong Kong discussed the challenges in establishing working relations with Chinese businesses. It is not a secret that developing strong relations with Chinese partners is challenging due to cultural, political and economic barriers. The significant role of the government in multiple aspects of Chinese business as well as the attempts of Chinese and local governments to make the business dealing more transparent have the significant impact on technology transfer, partnership and business development. Dr. Ai emphasized the importance of strategic planning in dealing with Chinese partners as well as accurate selection of “technology champion” (usually on the local government level) capable of promoting and supporting the collaboration.
Dr. Konstantin Izvolsky from Foresight Science & Technology discussed the criteria which should be used to identify a potential commercialization partner in Life Science industry. In Foresight’s experience, the size of the partner not always indicates its willingness to cooperate and support the outside technology. Based on the analysis of interviews conducted with the experts in life science industry, Foresight was able to identify common trends supporting the notion that smaller companies may be more willing to adopt the early stage outside technologies, but it will require much more focused approach from small startups. This information can be useful for small international life science startups trying to bring their innovations to the US market.
Foresight Science & Technology again exhibited at the AUTM Annual Meeting, this year in Phoenix, Arizona February 18th through the 21st.
As always, this event gave us the opportunity to meet with current and future clients.
Foresight Board Chair, Dr. Phyllis Speser, made a presentation to the United Nations Development Programs International Conference on Entrepreneurship in Bangkok Thailand on February 8, 2018. In her talk she focused on how the often discussed tensions between traditional entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship is a false dichotomy. She used the current water crisis in Cape Town, South Africa as an example, noting that if you had a low cost, high volume, efficient water desalination technology which could be implemented in a few months you could make a fortune there. She offered other examples from Thailand and the US which are less dramatic but still money makers. She then explored how to get these new technologies into the market by using an ecosystem approached based on supply chain entry and management. Phyllis concluded by noting successfully entrepreneurs build companies that address real and acknowledged problems. In today’s world of global climate change and population pressure on resources there are amply opportunities to find problems which are both money makes and further sustainable development goals.
The next day, Phyllis meet with student entrepreneurs from the ASEAN region to provide coaching and mentoring on how to make their start-ups thrive
Foresight Board Chair, Dr. Phyllis Speser, made a presentation to the United Nations Development Programs International Conference on Entrepreneurship in Bangkok Thailand on February 8, 2018. In her talk she focused on how the often discussed tensions between traditional entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship is a false dichotomy. She used the current water crisis in Cape Town, South Africa as an example, noting that if you had a low cost, high volume, efficient water desalination technology which could be implemented in a few months you could make a fortune there. She offered other examples from Thailand and the US which are less dramatic but still money makers. She then explored how to get these new technologies into the market by using an ecosystem approached based on supply chain entry and management. Phyllis concluded by noting successfully entrepreneurs build companies that address real and acknowledged problems. In today’s world of global climate change and population pressure on resources there are amply opportunities to find problems which are both money makes and further sustainable development goals.
The next day, Phyllis meet with student entrepreneurs from the ASEAN region to provide coaching and mentoring on how to make their start-ups thrive.
