Adventures in tech transfer: Our team’s first experiences of the Praxis Auril conference

Across Imperial Enterprise, we have a wide range of seasoned tech transfer and commercialisation specialists alongside bringing through the next generation of talented staff who enable innovation and entrepreneurship here at Europe’s leading university.

Earlier this month, a number of the team travelled to Praxis Auril’s annual conference, some for the first time, and so we asked Ryhan M. and Jiaxin Pan Ph.D. to tell us what they learned and how they’re bringing their newfound knowledge and connections across the sector to improve the work we deliver for our staff and students at Imperial.

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As junior members of Imperial’s IPC team ??, this was our first experience of attending a Praxis Auril event, and what a great bunch of colleagues to go with!

Our two-day escapade unfolded in the charming town of Blackpool, offering a nostalgic return to the north for Ryhan and a fair few of our team. While our jam-packed itinerary sadly left no room for the thrills of Blackpool Pleasure Beach, the experience was just as exciting as The Big One, albeit in a different context.

We delved into Blackpool’s storied past and its enduring allure as a tourist hotspot, complete with iconic sights like the Blackpool Tower, Pleasure Beach and the enchanting Winter Gardens. It’s no secret that?the UK is rather London-centric, especially so with the cluster of world-leading universities here in the capital and in the south-east, so it was refreshing to see Praxis Auril shine a spotlight on the vibrant north.

The conference highlighted innovative strategies to foster academic involvement, showcasing case studies from various institutions aimed at broadening connections with scholars and students. We’d like to give a shoutout to the communications and marketing teams at these organisations for their hard work.

Jiaxin’s sidenote: I was profoundly inspired by the opening speech, “The Impact of Knowledge Exchange in a Changing World.” The discussion of Andy Westwood wood and Alun Francis on how Tech Transfer Offices (TTOs) can better support global challenges, such as reducing inequality, resonated deeply. This inspiration motivates the implementation of more impactful support strategies, reinforcing Imperial's EDI principles. Highlighted Imperial initiatives include the AI SuperConnector program, where Imperial collaborates with three universities from the north of England to empower the next generation of AI entrepreneurs.

Another hot topic of conversation was the impending impact of AI on TTOs and its potential to nurture more ‘??s’ rather than ‘??s’.

Ryhan’s sidenote: While I’m an avid user of AI in my daily work (it even helped refine this post), I remain sceptical about its widespread adoption in intellectual property (IP). The challenges of self-disclosure and the possibility of AI being deemed a ‘Person Skilled in the Art’ remain untested in court, posing uncharted waters for IP professionals.?I’d be happy to hear your thoughts in the comments.

We also explored how institutions could place greater value on social enterprises beyond monetary gain (shoutout to ?Social Sciences Humanities & the Arts for People and the Economy - SHAPE).

• What drives universities to support social ventures without financial rewards?
• What are the non-financial benefits that motivate such pursuits?

These are some of the many questions this conference tackled.

Learning about non-financial incentives for these endeavours was great, especially during a ‘financially trying’ time for universities to say the least. We’re looking forward to contributing to Imperial’s pioneering work as part of Imperial Ghana and more as we grow our global connections.

Ryhan also had the chance to meet a fellow Praxis Auril co-oordianator Arnie King whom he had the pleasure of meeting at a previous community event focused on SHAPE and Social Enterprises.?

Insights were shared on managing the spin-out process across TTOs of all sizes and the exciting prospects of collaborative efforts. A nod to joint tech transfer endeavours such as the Northern Accelerator consortium and Ryhan’s alma mater’s university cluster: ‘Teamwork makes the dreamwork’.

It was also great to be a part of the soft launch of Knowledge Exchange UK (the new name for Praxis Auril) - encompassing all things tech transfer, knowledge exchange, social enterprises and more.

Unfortunately, Britain being Britain meant that train disruptions caused minor havoc and led us to miss the final talk by Alice Roberts (University of Birmingham) - but I am eagerly awaiting recap sessions!

At Imperial Enterprise, the colleagues and our camaraderie are what makes the cogs churn, in fact, our close-knit dynamic was mentioned by many a TTO over the few days we were there. I’m immensely thankful to be part of this incredible team and eagerly anticipate tackling future challenges together and learning more from the wider community at future events.?

We had great fun at the conference, the Mishcon de Reya LLP -sponsored Gala, and can't wait to put our knowledge into action at Imperial and with partners around the world. Be sure to reach out to find out how you can be a part of our innovation ecosystem.