ITTC 2019 - 12th International Technology Transfer Conference
The Jožef Stefan Institute (JSI) held its traditional, already 12th International Technology Transfer Conference (ITTC 2019), on Thursday, October 10, 2019, as part of the Information Society 2019 conference, and it was ceremoniously opened by the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, dr. Jernej Štromajer, JSI director prof. dr. Jadran Lenarčič, and Head of the Center for Technology Transfer and Innovation at JSI, dr. Špela Stres.
The gathering was addressed in the introductory section by the renowned and respected expert David Secher (Cambridge KT Ltd.), who touched upon the topic of technology transfer from research organizations to industry, and was further joined by Siobhan Horan (Knowledge Transfer Ireland), Giancarlo Caratti (DG JRC), Andrej Simončič (KIS), Tomaž Boh (MIZŠ), Natalija Stošicki (SID Bank), Andrea Marcello (EIF), Tjwan Tan (EEN), Iiro Eerola (EC) and Jakob Gajšek (LUI). The presentations and roundtables set the stage for continuing efforts to create an effective system for connecting the research community to the economy and for providing the missing instruments such as the provision of funding to test the technology concept in the early stages of development (Proof of Concept).
Again, this year's conference reaffirmed that connecting the research community with the economy and identifying innovative researchers is a key task for the well-being of society as a whole, as well as of the utmost importance of collaboration. The conference also included a pitch competition for best innovation within public research organizations, within which innovative researchers presented their ideas in front of an international committee of experts. The presentation with the highest potential received an award.
