Agreeing Common Objectives

• You need to give as well as take

Agreeing Common Objectives

• Be clear on each other’s objectives – misconceptions are what destroy relationships

Agreeing Common Objectives

• Aim for honesty and openness

Working with a big bureaucracy MLU

Understanding of Commercial Pressures

• HEIs are primarily Government funded

• Many staff are long-term if not lifetime employees • Fixed academic timetables

Understanding of Commercial Pressures

• Most HEI staff have not experienced the consequences of commercial failure

Understanding of Commercial Pressures

Timeframe

• Important to clarify time and cost inputs and returns

Timeframe

• Important to understand the HEI calendar• Build in a slippage margin• Typically a project can take 24 months from initial

contact to completion

Costs

• Collaboration with a HEI can help your business to achieve accelerated growth

• Clarify costs and your needs early on

Costs

EXERCISE: Identify the costs to your company of collaborating with a HEI?

Cost exercise - debrief

• Opportunity cost?• Can you afford to be out of the loop – away

from the market?

Cost exercise - debrief

• Time – you cannot delegate this to a junior!

Cost exercise - debrief

• Travel• Legal and other professional advice• Training

Cost exercise - debrief

• Risk of failure

• What is intellectual property?• Registered rights

• Patents• Trademarks• Registered designs

• Unregistered rights• Copyright• Know-how• Trade secrets• Unregistered designs

IPR

• Be clear: • what it is you want to protect• what it is you want to achieve• what are you prepared to give?

IPR

• Take advice!

IPR

• Identify a sympathetic internal HEI contact

IPR