Press Release
More Pathways to Commercialise Ideas at UBC
January 25, 2011 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
January 25, 2011 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Intellectual Ventures Canada ULC (IV), an invention investment company, and the University of British Columbia (UBC) have signed a partnership agreement that provides a new channel for ideas and discoveries made by UBC researchers to contribute to the next generation of innovative new products.
Under the partnership, IV will identify specific areas of interest where technical problems or market opportunities exist. UBC researchers and IV may develop new ideas in these areas to create the next wave of game-changing technologies.
“Global communication has prompted universities around the world to rethink the traditional approach to commercializing research,” says Dr. John Hepburn, UBC Vice President Research & International. “As one of the world’s leading universities, UBC makes a meaningful contribution to innovation capacity in Canada and internationally. Today’s agreement provides our researchers with a new vehicle for mobilizing their knowledge, ideas and discoveries beyond the lab to benefit society.”
IV manages more than $5 billion with an aim to invest in the creation, dissemination and use of technological inventions. Intellectual Ventures Canada was established in 2010 to find and invest in the best Canadian inventions. The company has quickly gained momentum, recently announcing collaborations with a number of leading Canadian institutions
Mr. Parminder Singh, President, Intellectual Ventures Canada, welcomes the connection with UBC.
“Intellectual Ventures is focused on all aspects of the business of invention. Our global team works to create technology roadmaps and identify problems that need to be solved. By facilitating more solutions to these problems by the world’s leading universities such as UBC, our hope is to bring critically important and commercially viable inventions to life,” says Mr. Singh.