Technology & Knowledge Transfer
University Strategy and Framework Conditions
In addition to its traditional core tasks of teaching and research, the University of Basel strives to support the transfer of technology and knowledge into innovations for societal impact. Transfer today is mostly achieved by startup foundation with or without licensing of a technology as larger private companies have started to focus more on de-risked technologies or other assets. However, they remain very important partners and the University of Basel is open to creating new innovations together with corporations. While the University of Basel supports innovation from all fields, a focus is on complex global challenges, such as health, disease, climate, food, new technologies, which must be tackled with a multi-disciplinary approach in mind.
The President's Office launched an innovation initiative in 2017 to consolidate and develop activities in this area and founded the Innovation Office as a one-stop-shop for implementation. Furthermore, the University has established itself as an important actor in the innovation ecosystem, having created more than 100 companies and over 1,400 jobs – showcasing its important contribution to the strength and dynamism of the Basel region.
Startup Policy
This Policy presents the basic principles of how the University supports its researchers for knowledge and technology transfer. It outlines guiding principles and available support, including infrastructure. In addition, the Policy mentions rationale and process of patenting and licensing of technologies.
The University of Basel supports and encourages the foundation of knowledge-based start-ups with various offers (e.g. courses, infrastructure, grants, mentoring). In return, the University of Basel is compensated by the start-up for the granting of a license. This compensation is usually a combination of equity and royalties, in accordance with standard market rates. The Policy is substantiated by an Addendum where you can transparently find binding information about conditions in detail (see box for document).
The Policy is based on the following University regulation documents:
Innovation Collaboration - Partnering with Industry
The Innovation Office is the University’s hub for companies, researchers and start-ups wishing to collaborate with each other. Whether you are a researcher at the University of Basel, wishing to transfer your discoveries in partnership with a small or large company or an existing company (small or large), the University of Basel is open for collaboration and welcomes industrial players of any size from different fields, to explore together, how to jointly solve challenges in innovation. Collaborations could be focused on a larger societal challenge, a technology developed in a lab or accessing students to develop and incubate ideas.
We support such partnerships through our extensive network and expertise inside all faculties and departments of the University (including Associated Institutes such as the Swiss TPH, and the University Hospital) and in industry (pharma industry, startups, tech companies) in helping you to find your perfect partner. If you are interested in these programs or you are looking for building new programs, reach out to us! Our general terms and conditions for collaboration are transparent and available below.
Contact: alessandro.mazzetti@unibas.ch
Unitectra – Patents, Licenses and Research Contracts
Unitectra is the organization specifically founded and co-owned by the University of Basel (and the Universities of Zurich and Bern) that supports university researchers in the commercial exploitation of research results. This includes in particular processes and services regarding:
- Protection and management of intellectual property (especially patents)
- Negotiation of licenses with external partners (existing companies or newly founded start-up companies)
In addition, Unitectra supports and advises researchers in negotiating research contracts, such as Material Transfer Agreements (MTA’s) with external partners. At the University of Basel, Unitectra is responsible for researchers of the following faculties:
- Faculty of Medicine
- Faculty of Science
- Faculty of Psychology
For questions regarding intellectual property and contracts with third parties, researchers from other faculties are supported by the Legal Services team.
Contact: mail@unitectra.ch
