STEM Annual Summit 2014: Empowering Technology Management Professionals
The Society for Technology Management Annual summit 2014 was successfully concluded in Hyderabad. The two day long summit held on 19-20 August for technology management professionals witnessed an active participation of policy planners, academicians, technology transfer and intellectual property professionals from India and abroad. The participants were an eclectic mix of technology managers from areas of life science, engineering and material sciences. K. Vijayaraghavan, President, STEM welcomed the participants and expanded on the idea behind the program and described it not merely as an opportunity to educate oneself on recent developments in the field of technology management, but also to network and share ideas and views through gatherings and meetings. He also announced the Fellow STEM and Associate STEM programs. “The convergence of technology management professionals for the STEM Annual Summit has reflected the Indian convergence as the knowledge creator, knowledge manager and knowledge applicator. The intellectual assets creation and technology transfer has great potential to create economic and social impact for the professionals“, said K. Vijayaraghavan, President, STEM.
The STEM 2014 was made possible through the support of AUTM, ABSPII, AIP and BGRI. The chief guest of the event, Jane Muir, President, AUTM, addressed the audience and shared her perspective on Technology Management and international best practices. Speaking at the summit, she emphasized on various prospects in technology management and also the impediments faced by technology managers and how the technology transfer practice is constantly evolving. Through stimulating case studies and success stories, she shed light on the positive impact created by technology managers in the world. “It has been an amazing conference. The active participation of representatives from so many different areas of technology transfer is very encouraging. These are exciting times for India“, said Jane Muir, President, AUTM.
Rama Rao (NAARM), N. Suresh (BioSpectrum), K. Vijayaraghavan (Sathguru Management Consultants), CSN Murthy (Aurigene technologies) were among other key panelists who participated in panel discussions and shared their thoughts and perspectives on innovation and discussed at length on technology valuations becoming a complex business. Pushpa Vijayaraghavan (Sathguru), Ajith Kamath (Pfizer), Sadhana Srivastava (ICMR) and Rajesh Dubey (Dr.Reddys) shared their thoughts on Technology access in bio-pharma: bridging gap by academia industry collaboration. Through engaging panel discussions and interactive sessions on subjects like Technology Valuations; the impact Bio property laws & regulations have on innovation and tech transfer, the participants gained from the eminent speakers, who apart from providing their perspectives also shared their experiences.
The highlight of the summit was the Technology Showcasing event that provided innovators a unique platform to display and demonstrate the pioneering technologies developed by their institutes and organizations. A one-to-one meeting session was organized to ensure that innovators got an opportunity to demonstrate and market their innovative technology. K. Vijayaraghavan and Jane Muir interacted on intricacies in International Technology Transfer and shared their insights with the audience. A joint presentation was delivered on the art of Drafting Licensing Agreements by Richard Cahoon (BioProperty Strategy Group) and R.K Gupta (LLS). Ravi Bhola (K&S Partners) gave a presentation on Intellectual Property in Information Technology- Cross Sectoral implications; and shed light on the position of law and patenting in India. Deepanwita Chattopadhyay (IKP), Taslimarif Saiyed (C-CAMP), Jane Muir ( AUTM President), Radha Rangarajan (Vitas Pharma), Kiran Sharma (PTTC) discussed on Bio-parks: Way to enhance enterprise value.
Based on personal experiences in the field, the analysis of best practices in technology management provided much food for thought for the participants. The immense impact the speakers had on the audience could be gauged by the post presentation Q&A sessions and interactive discussions that spilled into the networking breaks. Eminent international faculty, globally experienced senior technology transfer practitioners and decision-makers from prominent public research institutions, regulatory authorities and international bodies involved in intellectual property management shared their insights and experience on how IP could be leveraged to ensure enhanced and enduring competitive advantages.
