Colombian university, Purdue technology transfer office partner on commercialization processes, activities

April 10, 2014  


WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A partnership between Purdue Research Foundation and Universidad de Caldas in Manizales, Caldas, Colombia brought two Colombian university officials to Purdue's Office of Technology Commercialization as part of a 10-month project to increase commercialization activities for both entities.

Rogelio Ocampo and Patricia Salazar spent three weeks at Purdue as part of an initial step funded through a $170,000 grant from iNNpulsa and Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje, Colombian government agencies created to foster entrepreneurship and innovation.

Vicky Montenegro, a project manager for the Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization, said the experience is the first of three milestones in the project.

"The goal is to share best practices on technology transfer and commercialization between both universities," she said. "Patricia and Rogelio are here to gain initial exposure to the Purdue technology commercialization process and will return to develop transfer and commercialization strategies at their university in Colombia. In June, two members of our team will lead a workshop at the Universidad de Caldas. In September, Patricia and Rogelio will return to Purdue to develop commercialization and intellectual property strategies for technologies coming out of Caldas."

Ocampo, director of research at Universidad de Caldas, said gaining perspectives on the different approaches between the universities can positively impact commercialization efforts of technological advancements made at Universidad de Caldas.

"Similar to Purdue, we have a strong engineering and agricultural presence at our university," he said. "Applying new and different perspectives to commercializing our technologies is important for the university and the region, which has a firm agricultural base and is located in one of the most significant coffee growing regions worldwide."

Salazar, technology transfer office director at Universidad de Caldas, said that gaining a different perspective will strengthen the university's process currently in place.

"Our technology transfer process is young and has much potential, and we see this partnership strengthening methods from both universities," she said. "Because Purdue has a long established network and system, we can observe the approach at Purdue and potentially apply some techniques to our procedure of patent checking and developing paths to commercialization."

Salazar said the experience has been beneficial and allowed her and Ocampo to learn from knowledgeable and welcoming staff.

"The people we've worked with at Purdue have been great," she said. "In our short time here we've gained so much, and we're looking forward to our continuing relationship."

About Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization

The Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the United States. Services provided by this office support the economic development initiatives of Purdue University and benefit the university's academic activities.

Writer: Andrew Gunter, (765) 588-3341, marketing@prf.org 

Contact: Cynthia Sequin, (765) 588-3340, casequin@prf.org

Sources: Vicky Montenegro, (765) 588-3491, mvmontenegro@prf.org 

Rogelio Ocampo, rogelio.ocampo@ucaldas.edu.co 

Patricia Salazar, patricia.salazar@ucaldas.edu.co

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