Are you passionate about using knowledge to create social impact? In this responsible and independent role, will you inspire and motivate your team and help make the impact ambitions of 7,000 colleagues a reality? By setting the pace and asking probing questions, you will design the best route for making an impact in a collaborative way. In doing so, you will realise scalable spin-offs and help assess how intellectual property can both accelerate social applications and support (applied) research and account management.Wageningen University & Research's Knowledge Transfer Office (KTO) is the key to finding, protecting and transferring new knowledge and technologies to society, including large companies, SMEs and start-ups, government agencies and public bodies and non-profit organisations. As part of the
Value Creation Department, the KTO works with Entrepreneurship, Business Development, chairs and Science Group management to develop a long-term strategy focused on knowledge transfer and societal impact.
The KTO consists of a team of ten experts in intellectual property, business development and technology transfer who work closely with their colleagues in the Science Groups.
As KTO manager you will:
- lead and develop a team of ten knowledge transfer professionals, working closely with researchers, entrepreneurs, lawyers and providers of finance;
- develop internal awareness of valorisation, programmes and projects to increase the impact of innovations;
- coach and advise internal clients on complex valorisation issues and stimulate the WUR-wide business development community;
- provide strategic advice and support to research groups on contractual and portfolio issues with market partners;
- translate scientific research into applications by communicating the value of knowledge to scientists and negotiating commercial agreements with third parties;
- coordinate the development of policy in the field of knowledge transfer and intellectual property and be a discussion partner for all units inside and outside the organisation; from researchers to managing directors, and from start-ups to representatives of industrial parties or ministries.
Multi-year objectives include the further professionalisation of the KTO's work processes, increased cooperation with SMEs/start-ups and scale-ups, increasing the number of WUR spin-offs and promoting an entrepreneurial mindset among colleagues.