Last week, the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) program “WIPO Mentorship for Spin-offs of the Baltic States” was launched in Riga with the aim to train experts of the Baltic States’ technology transfer centres (TTOs) in providing support to science-intensive companies.
To promote technology transfer at universities, TTOs are established where one or more professionals help university employees, scientists, and students with matters related to intellectual property (IP), patenting, commercialization of inventions, licensing, investment attraction. To support TTOs, WIPO has developed a special program to strengthen the knowledge of experts that would further act as mentors for university spin-offs to assist them in commercializing inventions.
A total of 35 experts from the Baltic countries, including 16 Latvian representatives, have joined the program. It is planned that the training course will conclude in the fall of 2024.
The aim of the mentoring program is to improve the knowledge and skills of the Baltic TTOs to support the creation of university spin-offs in the region, to provide consultancy in spin-off issues related to IP commercialization and management, and to promote, as far as possible, the sustainability of new companies.
At the opening event of the mentoring program, the Minister of Justice Inese Lībiņa-Egnere stressed that start-ups based on science, sustainability and innovation are the basis of the country's economic growth. Such a program is important at the national level because it promotes economic growth, research and innovation, public welfare, and international cooperation.
“IP rights play a key role in protecting and stimulating innovation, while cooperation is the key to success,” noted Director of the Latvian Patent Office Agris Batalauskis addressing the participants of the event. “Protecting inventions and creative works by IP rights is essential to develop such an environment that fosters originality and guarantees that innovators benefit from their work. By establishing cooperation between educational and research institutions, businesses, and public authorities, we create the environment ready for the development of innovation. Together, we can use the common knowledge of our region to gradually solve global problems and take advantage of new opportunities,” stated A. Batalauskis.
At the meeting of the Baltic States’ TTO network held on 27 October 2022, it was decided to continue the cooperation between the participating universities and research institutions, as well as to strengthen their knowledge in the field of IP. It was emphasized that it is necessary to focus on the support for the creation of spin-offs and IP management using the competences acquired by the professionals of the Baltic States’ TTO. The mentoring program was recognized as the most suitable approach to meet these objectives, and it was developed with the participation of an international expert Adam Hillestrøm.