Knowledge Exchange Seldom Happens as Planned. Pinaki Bose (U of C) Amin Emad (U of A) Joey Gallant (U of A) Sandeep Chandana (U of C)

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1 Knowledge Exchange Seldom Happens as Planned Pinaki Bose (U of C) Amin Emad (U of A) Joey Gallant (U of A) Sandeep Chandana (U of C)

2 Logical Afterthought. Innovation seldom happens as planned. Information gathering on pathways of knowledge exchange Decision on individual coherent themes Identification of cases of knowledge exchange Analysis of cases of knowledge exchange Linkages between the cases: the real innovation.

3 Cases

5 Origins The Alberta Power Industry Consortium (APIC) was established in the fall of 2007 under the NSERC/iCORE Alberta Power Companies Industrial Research Chair in Power Quality. The organization promotes energy systems research, education, and exchange in Alberta.

6 Partners Epcor: Owner and operator of Edmonton s power transmission and distribution systems ATCO: Owner and operator of Northern Alberta s transmission and distribution systems Fortis AB: Owner and operator of Southern Alberta s power distribution system AESO: Operator of Alberta s transmission system AltaLink: Owner and operator of Southern Alberta s power transmission system

7 Objectives/Pathways 1. to research technical problems of common interest 2. to support the professional development of current employees Increasing capacity for problem solving 3. to produce more well-trained power engineering graduates Training skilled graduates 4. to promote technical cooperation and exchange in Alberta s power engineering community Forming networks and stimulating interaction

8 Questions to Consider Is there evidence to suggest that these pathways are being utilized? Is there more emphasis placed on the use of one pathway in particular? What are the outcomes/results of the use of these pathways? Can any generalizations be drawn from this analysis as to how knowledge is exchanged in a consortium environment?

9 Hours of Exchange Increasing Capacity for Problem Solving 8 technical reports written since consortium inception Truck grounding -> Utility motor starting

10 Training Skilled Graduates Hours of Exchange Since inception, 40% of graduating students have gone on to work for participating consortium companies. 3 Students 2 Students

11 Forming Networks and Stimulating Interaction Hours of Exchange A variety of projects are currently in progress and many others have been proposed for the future. Harmonic Interference, Identification of disturbance sources, measurement of advanced power system parameters, grounding

12 Total Exchange Hours by Pathway

13 Discussion The Alberta Power Industry Consortium follows a similar model to those introduced by Dr. Larry Lines (advantages to industry, academia, and caveats) 5 industry members collaborate with the PDS lab at the U of A to realize common objectives/pathways of knowledge exchange Both entities reap the benefits of utilizing the knowledge exchange pathways outlined A larger emphasis (number of exchange hours) on training skilled graduates suggests that this pathway is of unique value to both parties involved

14 icore Wireless Communications Laboratory

15 Introduction iwcl established in 2000 in the ECE department at the U of A Members include: 5 Profs, 9 PDFs, 56 Grad Students, 3 RAs, etc. 34 patents and patent applications From : 300 Journal Publications 450 Conference Publications

16 Intellectual Property Threaded Algebraic Space-Time Constellations and Threaded Algebraic Space-Time Code Construction Methodology Licensed to an American Corporation TEC Edmonton receives royalties for usage based on the number of units using the technology There is a minimum royalty per year to be paid regardless of the number of unit installations The legal agreement provides for profit sharing with TEC Edmonton if the licensee licences the technology to other companies.

17 Intellectual Property Ohio State Univ. WebSky, Inc. TEC Edmonton Strategic Wireless Solutions, Inc. U of A IP Co-developed at the icore Wireless Communications Laboratory at the U of A and the Ohio State University Strategic Wireless Solutions, Inc., a subsidiary of UTEK Corporation held the exclusive license to this technology UTEK is a market-driven technology transfer company which enables other companies to rapidly acquire innovative technologies from universities and research laboratories. It has operations in several countries including the US and the UK

18 Intellectual Property WebSky, Inc. acquired Strategic Wireless Solutions, Inc. WebSky, Inc., is a San Francisco-based company developing wireless broadband/wi-max systems in several small and medium sized cities in the United States. It also operates in India, Argentina, etc. Types of Interaction Research Collaboration: With the Ohio State University Consulting: Resulted in a consulting agreement with the Strategic Wireless Solutions, Inc., Plant City, Florida, US Expertise Sharing

19 Pathways of Knowledge Flow Involved A new method of coding that operates at near optimal efficiencies Creating new scientific instruments and methodologies The method can be used for a more efficient way of data transmission Increasing capacity for scientific and technical problem solving Creating new firms and licensing of patents Increasing the stock of useful knowledge Training skilled graduates

20 Barriers to Knowledge Flow Research Topics: The industry implementation already exits and technology is well known The industry implementation does not exist and the topic is very new The tendency of Canadian companies to employ incremental innovations rather than high risk new technologies Geographic proximity to industry has a strong effect on viable industry collaborations New collaborations need informed students and faculty

21 Antibody services

22 Antibodies: An Introduction Antibodies (also known as immunoglobulins, Ig) are found in blood and other body fluids They are secreted by B cells of the immune system They are used by the immune system to destroy invading pathogens and neutralize foreign substances Antibodies are specific to their targets, called antigens The specificity of antibodies is an invaluable tool in molecular biology research

23 Antibody Production

24 Case of Knowledge Exchange SACRI antibody services (SAS) was founded in 1994 Purpose: Serves as a specialized resource for manufacturing custom antibodies Idea to innovation: Major antibody manufacturing companies make antibodies against already characterized and well-known antigens. Novel antigens discovered in scientific laboratories have to either wait for a long time for the molecule to be characterized or huge resources are required to make the antibody. SAS serves to make this process seamless.

25 Pathways of Knowledge Flow Involved Custom antibodies being used for high through-put diagnostic purposes Increasing capacity for problem solving Creating new instruments and methodologies Characterizing and gaining knowledge on various cancers Increasing the stock of knowledge Training skilled graduates

26 Key Success Factors Niche area, does not have to compete with major biotech firms Researchers helping other researchers - knowledge exchange Scientists treat SACRI antibody services as a colleague network rather than a big biotech companies

27 Barriers to Knowledge Flow Scientists are generally secretive of their research, creating barriers for collaboration Generating funding for sustainability is limited to research grants Not a completely novel idea

28 SWOT: Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats Definition: SWOT Analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project (research collaboration).

29 SWOT Analysis of Cases 1 Strength Students have access to real world data sets Industry has access to new research ideas Weaknesses Consortium members tend to have a narrow focus Possibility of recruitment by industry Consortium environment can hinder a student s ability to publish Opportunities Threats

30 SWOT Analysis of Cases 2 Strength Patent owned by inventors International research collaborations Weaknesses No funding from industry for research Consulting opportunities with industry Expertise sharing with industry Possibility of recruitment by industry Opportunities Short-term nature of interaction (not strongly imbedded) Threats

31 SWOT Analysis of Cases 3 Strength Strong emphasis on academic research Basic research championed Weaknesses No Research collaboration established between academia and industry Variety of patents generated can be licensed Threat from big biotech companies Difficulties in enforcing patents Opportunities Threats

32 Case Analysis Continued. Case 1 has strong ties with industry. This can have both positive and negative connotations The narrow focus of the collaboration environment ensures that projects of unique interest are accomplished efficiently, but this can also limit the creativity of academic output Case 2 has weak ties with industry Students and academics benefit from this through ownership of intellectual property, but suffer in terms of funding for their projects Case 3 has no ties with industry, but benefits from collaborations within academia In this case, the end users are scientists

33 Questions to Consider How does interaction with industry affect innovation? Are links to industry necessary for innovation?

34 Thank You Cooper Langford Anne Tyrie Martha Cote Ball Peter Josty Special Guests Staff at the U of C Kananaskis Field station

National Cancer Institute

Technology Transfer Center National Cancer Institute NCI Shady Grove 9609 Medical Center Dr. Room 1E-530, MSC 9702 Bethesda, MD 20892-9702 Telephone: 240-276-5530 Fax: 240-276-5504 Technology Transfer