The Scalable TTO: Co-Inventing with Faculty, Students, and Entrepreneurs

Most university technology transfer offices are built around a traditional intake model: wait for invention disclosures, evaluate them, protect the best ones, and search for licensees. That model works for some technologies, but it is difficult to scale. It also misses a large category of opportunities where faculty know the problems, students can help build early versions, and the TTO can help organize the pathway from idea to usable product.

Join us for an insightful webinar where we explore a more active, scalable model of tech transfer in which the TTO helps co-invent with faculty and external partners, rapidly prototype software and applied technologies, involve students in development and validation, and create more licensable opportunities earlier in the process. Based on recent experiments by a handful of TTOs with student-built software, “vibe coding,” faculty co-creation, and simple product development pathways, our panelists – representing three institutions at the forefront of this shift – will discuss how TTOs can increase the surface area of commercialization without abandoning traditional deep-tech licensing.

Key Discussion Topics:

• Why the wait-for-disclosure model caps how much a TTO can commercialize, and what an active, co-inventing alternative looks like
• Rethinking TTO capacity: how vibe coding and rapid prototyping let small teams generate more licensable opportunities without more headcount
• Adapting the model to fit different TTO sizes and resource levels, from large research universities to lean, understaffed offices
• Where this approach complements (rather than replaces) traditional deep-tech licensing workflows
• Practical, low-risk first steps for piloting a more scalable model at your own institution

Who Should Attend:

• Technology transfer officers and licensing associates looking to broaden their office’s commercialization pipeline
• TTO directors and leadership evaluating new operating models or staffing strategies
• University innovation and entrepreneurship center staff who partner with TTOs on student ventures
• Faculty entrepreneurs interested in more active support for turning research into usable products
• Student entrepreneurship program leaders exploring ways to plug students into real commercialization work
• Research administrators and provosts’ office staff shaping institutional innovation strategy

Technology transfer is entering a period of quiet reinvention. As institutions look for new ways to translate research into real-world impact, this webinar is part of that conversation: a look at how some innovative TTOs are testing what a more active, collaborative model can look like, and what it might mean for the field going forward. Whether you’re leading a large, established office or part of a lean team wearing multiple hats, you’ll leave with new ideas to consider for your organization.

Program Leaders