ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER MECHANISMS IN STIMULATING INNOVATION

Innovation has gained importance in many societies and economies owing to its significant impact on efficiency and quality of life. The efforts of many countries to spur innovation demonstrate that innovation has gained momentum, especially in the past few decades. To improve the innovative capacity of countries and to ensure that society gets the maximum benefit of the research function of universities, it is important to transfer the knowledge generated by universities to industry through commercialization of research. This paper discusses technology transfer mechanisms which facilitate commercialization of research by transforming the research conducted by universities and research institutions and putting them in a form which is usable by technology seekers, such as SMEs, start-ups and the government. The article analyzes the effectiveness of the technology transfer mechanisms in stimulating innovation as well as the financial framework needed to facilitate innovation-based entrepreneurship.