The Innovus Technology Transfer Office (TTO) launched its inaugural Open Week at the beginning of July, setting a new benchmark for collaboration among African TTO’s. Despite the rainy weather, more than 20 Technology Transfer professionals gathered at the Stellenbosch University (SU) LaunchLab to exchange advice on best practices and engage in forward-thinking conversations. Over three days, various stakeholders from SU showcased the strategies and practices that have helped position them as a leader in the local Technology Transfer landscape. This event, though small, signified an important step towards establishing an interconnected, collaborative network of Technology Transfer professionals with a shared purpose of positively impacting our society. 

Anita Nel, Chief Director of Innovation and Commercialisation at SU, opened the session with introductions. She described the town of Stellenbosch as an ideal location. “The perfect setting for a business incubator is to be situated in an interesting and vibrant town within the vicinity of a good university,” says Nel. She eloquently outlined the purpose of a TTO, describing it as a service that facilitates the launch of research into society by matching it with the relevant market gaps. 

Nel explained the SU operational structure, divided into Responsibility Centres (RC). The Innovation and Commercialisation Division forms part of the overarching Operations and Finance RC and was created to take responsibility of the University’s fifth income stream: 

• First stream: government subsidy for teaching, learning and research. 

• Second stream – student fees for academic programmes, accommodation, and services. 

• Third stream – research grants and contracts. 

• Fourth stream – philanthropic donations; and  

• Fifth stream – investment income, commercialisation, technology transfer and short courses. 

Nel highlights SUNCOM, the SU business office, which manages the commercialisation of university assets. Income generated from these assets is used to sustain the university’s commercial activities. SUNCOM consists of various offices including Transport Services, Residence Services, the SU Botanical Gardens, Catering and Compliance, The Letting Office and Factory209.  

Creating a pipeline for future university asset related innovations, Factory209 evaluates the commercial services and products that are connected to university assets. Entities that exist within Factory209 include Gradlinc, the graduate employment service and the Central Events and Conferencing Office (CECO), the venue hiring and events company. These entities generate an income that ensures the regular upkeep and maintenance of SU assets. It also to ensure that SU creates jobs and develops new skills. 

“Entrepreneurship is an unfunded mandate and in South Africa there is more innovation taking place in universities than in the private sector,” says Nel. However, we acknowledge that our resources are insufficient, and we cannot support all the demands for innovations. To solve this SU has created four initiatives to help expand capacity and broaden the team’s skills. These are the Translational Fellow, Instant Startup, the Concierge Service and Stellenbosch Network. 

The Translational Fellow managed by Nolene Singh, Deputy Director of Innovus TTO, allows researchers to appoint one or more of their postdoctoral or master’s students, to handle the commercial aspects of inventions. 

During Open Week, Singh elaborated on the SU commercialisation process stressing that market analysis is arguably one of the most important steps to commercialisation. The SU market analysis considers the overview of market segments, dissecting the customer problem, observing and creating the value chain, drawing up the value proposition, determining the market size – completing an invention evaluator report and determining the invention’s competitive advantage. 

Ravini Moodley, Director of Innovus TTO, outlined the four types of disclosures at SU: Invention Disclosure, Business Idea, Software, Research Tools. These disclosures are crucial to protecting the university’s Intellectual Property (IP). The Intellectual Property from Publicly Financed Research and Development Act (IPRPFRD) of 2008 plays a crucial role in protecting university IP. According to SU policy, any IP generated by students or employees belongs entirely to the university, with equity taken in any resulting business. The policy ensures that inventors receive 25% of the first R1m of gross, increasing to 35% thereafter, minus direct costs. In 2024 so far, SU has seen 12 invention disclosures, with expectations of more in the coming months. The TTO actively promotes awareness campaigns to encourage researchers, students, and employees to disclose new inventions. 

A newer addition to SU’s disclosure types is Research Tools, which encompasses useful hacks or academic tools developed by researchers, licensed to benefit inventors through dividends.  

Recognising the TTO’s limited resources, the Instant Startup platform, as well as the Concierge Service, was initiated by Doris Peters, New Venture Support Manager. The concierge service helps to set up companies by appointing Directors, opening bank accounts, obtaining the relevant insurance and managing share registers. They also provide training for accounting systems like Xero and Pastel. The Instant Startup platform assists the TTO and LaunchLab (LL) by virtually taking spin-outs through administrative processes that are essential to setting up a company. There is a helpful AI chatbot and with the new version which will launch later this year there will also be video instruction.

During his Open Week presentation Brandon Paschal, Deputy Director of Spin-out Companies and Funds, references a 2018 Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) report on South Africa’s incubator and accelerator landscape, which found that incubators focusing on soft skills and team structure are more successful than those emphasising only accounting and business skills. 

Paschal manages the SU business incubator, LaunchLab (LL), which support spin-out companies ensuring that they are impactful and sustainable, and that they obtain the necessary soft skills to maintain a business. With Instant Startup taking care of the administrative activities, the LL develops curated access to market and funding for each spin-out company. Students are also incubated through various workshops hosted by LL. 

Previously, LL worked with SU alumni startups, but this focus has recently shifted to spin-out companies only. In this regard, Paschal praises the Stellenbosch Network for its close collaboration with SU alumni startups and businesses. He highlights the initiative as a crucial link, keeping alumni-owned businesses with no IP linked to SU, still connected to the university’s innovation and business community.  

Stellenbosch Network is a cross-sector, interdisciplinary membership organization connecting industry, government, society, and academia. Developed as an initiative of Innovus, it operates as a registered Non-Profit Organisation with an independent board, and is run by Hanli Brink, Operations Director at Stellenbosch Network. 

“Innovus recognised that most of the research commercialised within SU isn’t entirely relevant to local challenges, as South African industries are often hesitant to trial new technologies compared to their international counterparts. This insight partially drove the establishment of the Stellenbosch Network, which support community entrepreneurs whose innovations address immediate local challenges,” explained Brink. The Network has a number of initiatives and has recently begun forming industry-specific clusters, starting with agritech and soon healthtech, to drive progress.  

Other presentations during the event included insights from Cronje Jackson from Von Seidels on the IP process flow and Ian van Zyl, Tech Transfer Specialist at Innovus, who focused on SU’s approach to digital IP. 

Ana Casanueva, the Director of the University of the Western Cape (UWC) TTO, also presented at the Open Week, offering a unique perspective on TTO’s using a transport analogy, likening UWC to an Uber GO aspiring to expand its resources to an Uber XL and beyond.  

To conclude, as we look ahead, initiatives like the Open Week strengthen the ongoing efforts to enhance TTO capabilities and promises to further strengthen SU’s commitment to fostering innovation that addresses real-world challenges and drives economic growth in South Africa and beyond.