The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine is launching a pilot project to create technology transfer centers, by which researchers can implement their discoveries and businesses can find new ideas. It is planned that the Inter-Regional Office of Technology Transfer will be in Kyiv, and regional networks will be in Odessa and Kharkiv.
This was announced by the Director General of the Directorate for Innovation and Technology Transfer of The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, Darya Chayka today, February 19, 2019.
She explained that one of the main problems of innovation development in Ukraine is the low level of technology transfer.
«Often times a scientist, who possesses certain research results or has made new discoveries, is not able to further implement them, which creates a gap between the scientist’s laboratory and business, the real sector of economy. The same question arises about the effectiveness of using those funds, directed towards science by the state. We are now actively working to fix this connection, to make it mutually beneficial for both parties. This is happening in a number of ways – through the actualization of the relevant legislation, the development of a technology transfer network, events that do with communication, etc.», – Darya Chaika said.
The annual Ukrainian Innovation Festival, which will take place on May 14-16, is one of those events. During the festival, 2 competitions will be conducted, in particular, the ones dedicated to startups and innovation projects. The representatives of educational and scientific institutions are eligible to submit their projects; the jury will be formed of the representatives of innovative structures, venture businesses, international organizations and funds, etc. The finalists of the contests will receive aid for the implementation of their projects. The application deadline is February 28. You can find more detailed information here: https://mon.gov.ua/ua/2019-rik-festival-innovacij
«This year is going to be the fourth time we organize this festival. As the past years’ experience has shown, it is a good starting point for many participants to prove themselves, find investors, move forward. For example, the two final projects of the last year's festival later won the University Startup World Cup in Copenhagen, and the FoodBIOPack startup received a half-million-hryvnia grant from the Elephant Fund's Science Foundation in Ukraine», – the Director General said.
She also added that with the view to providing global change in innovation, the Ministry of Education and Science, together with stakeholders, has developed a relevant Strategy, which is currently awaiting approval by the Government. The changes that Ukrainian legislation requires in accordance with the Strategy are already being discussed. The Ministry of Education and Science wishes to take as many opinions of stakeholders as possible during this process, therefore the Directorate for Innovation and Technology Transfer has set a number of focus groups. Experts from both public and business circles, as well as the government, and the scientific community are involved.
In February, three focus group meetings were held, where the participants expressed their comments and proposals to the drafts developed by the Directorate, namely: the draft Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to particular Laws of Ukraine on Stimulating Activities in the Field of Technology Transfer", the Draft Law "On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On Science Parks".