Gee, what should I do with this tecnology? A multicase study about the possibilities of technology transfer at USP-RP

This paper has verified the possibilities of technology transfer from the Department of Physics and Mathematics, the Medical School and the Dentistry School, located in the campus of USP in Ribeirão Preto, to the medical, hospital and odontologic equipment [MHOE] industry. The method applied was the multicase study, in which the university units were studied, as well as five companies in the vicinity of the same city which take part in the aforementioned industry. The focus of the research laid in the university entities, however, data was also collected with the companies' executives, in order to gather a sample of the thinking of this class of professional as well as of the academicians, on what concerns to the technology transfer [TT]. 178 lines of research were identified (24 potentially applicable in the MHOE industry), and 58 technologies developed by the university (1 drawn the attention of the executives). Thus, it has been verified the presence of potentiality of TT between the studied entities, but reflections were made on the (1) university bureaucracy; (2) the technology patenting process; (3) the USP's positioning on the technology selling marketing; (4) the reasons why the academy (don't) want the university-industry interaction; and (5) the passive behavior of the researched companies on the cooperation process.