SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS

Agriculture & Food Special Interest Group (Ag SIG)

The group aims to advance innovation and collaboration in the agriculture and food sectors.

Focus Areas:

• Networking.
   
• Sharing: information, models, auditing & infringement.
   
• Developing: frameworks for legacy IP, models and tools.
   
• Case studies and learnings.
   
• Building a community of practice.
   
• International collaboration and funding.

Chair: 

Artificial Intelligence Special Interest Group (AI SIG)

The group aims to explore and understand how AI can support and enable technology transfer professionals in various capacities. AI is rapidly evolving, and its applications are increasingly being adopted by professionals. Potential current uses include drafting briefs, assessing IP landscapes, conducting market analysis, generating leads, identifying partners, securing funding, and developing commercialisation strategies. The AI SIGs initial focus is to be determined, and will likely involve sharing insights, tools, best practices, and innovative approaches.

Focus Areas:

• Current workflows and Technology Transfer Office (TTO) usage.
   
• Knowledge sharing.
   
• Upskilling.
   
• Evaluating tools.
   
• Thought leadership.

Chair: 

Diversity and Inclusion Special Interest Groups (D&I SIG)

This groups mission is to foster discussion and understanding of diversity and inclusion as a dynamic strategy to support and advance technology transfer worldwide. This is the place to share ideas on how to support the diverse workforce and contribute to global technology transfer.

The group thought D&I, included: gender, cultural, environmental differences, neurodivergent, age, race, ability, parental, religion, LGBTIQ, etc

Focus Areas:

• Better understand equity, divergence & inclusion and its impacts within technology transfer and professionals.
   
• How do we influence, encourage and grow D&I inclusion and belonging (creating safe spaces) amongst TT professionals & TTOs. Potentially providing/sourcing frameworks to assist professionals and TTOs.
   
• Indigenous knowledge, communicating and assisting TTOs pathways/engagement to access indigenous groups.
   
• Need to better understand the impacts of not understanding on the effects of D&I on technology and TTP innovation. Emerging in interest globally. Link in with other global interest groups.

Chair: 

Phoebe Jackson Morison

Humanities and Social Sciences Commercialisation Special Interest Group (HASS SIG)

A group for interested professionals to understand, share, and discuss good practice for commercialisation, industry engagement and knowledge exchange initiatives in HASS and advocate for greater investment.

Focus Areas:

• Humanities, arts, behavioural and social sciences community. Sense of belonging, wellbeing and inspiration.
   
• Learning from others: How we can learn from others how we can do better. Utilise the collective expertise. Sharing Lessons and learnings. Sharing of stories & case studies.
   
• Network: Building the network, perspectives and network reach.
   
• Developing a library of resources and reference material: Tools, models, case studies and resources. Potentially playbook/s. Incl. broader HASS translation barriers and impacts.
   
• Advocating, education (internal & external) and promotion of HASS. Common language (social impact, HASS, social sciences, social enterprise, etc) towards strengthen the social sciences voice in TT (and broader engagement and partnerships). Noted, that people are key to all KT/TT and also HASS is required to accompany most of the complex technical solutions for impact eg: autonomous vehicles, AI etc.

Chair: 

Strategic Communications & Impact SIG (SCI SIG)

The group aims to amplify the visibility, quality and strategic impact of marketing, communications, media and PR within Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs). These functions are central to driving engagement, celebrating commercialisation success, and highlighting the role of TTOs, through storytelling that showcases the real-world impact of research commercialisation across KCA member institutions.

Focus Areas:

• Showcasing the impact of research commercialisation and knowledge transfer through case studies, including licensing, spinouts, partnerships, and deal-making, which highlight the role of TTOs as strategic partners in the research impact journey.
   
• Exploring approaches to promote the impact of commercialisation, including storytelling and the development or use of impact frameworks.
   
• Sharing best practice in stakeholder messaging, social media, media and PR, pitch decks and internal/external communications.
   
• Elevating the quality, consistency and coordination of marketing and media outputs from TTOs and KCA member organisations.
   
• Identifying and sharing tools, training, templates and frameworks to support capability building and knowledge exchange.
   
• Advocating for recognition of non-deal-making roles in TTOs through storytelling and potential awards.

Chair: