CASE STUDIES ON TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY TO UNIVERSITY SPIN-OFFS IN PORTUGAL DOI:10.5773/rai.v1i1.679

Abstract

The university is a source for the development of new products and services based on knowledge and technology. The technology transfer from university to industry can be done through several mechanisms such as the creation of university spin-offs. This article analyzes four spin-offs and the offices that support the technology transfer and entrepreneurship of two Portuguese universities. In turn, this contributes to a better understanding of an emergent phenomenon in several countries. The results show that the university is more active in the early stages of the transfer process. Funding enables the development of the spin-off but in most cases implies that the academic founders lose the majority of capital and the control of their spin-offs launched in the academic context. In the process of technology transfer to the university spin-offs we have identified the following difficulties: costs associated with innovation, investment deficit, achieving credibility and acquiring strategic partners.