Mobility for training at the BME – Budapest University of Technology and Economics
I visited BME - Budapest University of Technology and Economics in Hungary in the framework of the "Erasmus+ Mobility for staff training for the academic year 2020-2021" programme, 25 - 27 August 2021. Specifically, I visited the Technology Transfer Office "BRIDGE" - BME Research, Innovation and Development Gateway Entity of the "FIEK - Center for University-Industry Cooperation". The FIEK Center was founded in 2017 with the main objective of promoting cooperation between higher education and industry.
During the first two days of my visit, I worked with Andras Jokuti, Chief Intellectual Property Advisor and Endre Halasi, Innovation Manager of the BRIDGE Office.
We mainly discussed issues of exploitation of the University's know-how and in particular I was informed about how they encourage members of the academic community, professors and students, to disclose their discovery, the process of the evaluation of an invention, of applying for patent protection, patenting and licensing, the possibility of finding partners - investors and generally how they provide support to researchers for the development of new businesses. From my side, I informed them about the University of Crete Property Development & Management Company and in particular the actions we take in terms of the exploitation of know-how and of innovative products generated at the University, as well as the support we offer to faculty members and researchers in the establishment of spin-off companies.
On the third day, I visited the BME Z10 start-up Center. Z10 is the incubator of the BME University. This hub was created to promote innovation generated at the University and to foster an entrepreneurial mindset within academia. Most importantly, it aims to encourage students to bring innovative business ideas to the surface and support them, through partnerships with companies and investors, to become entrepreneurs themselves. In addition to offering students space to set up a start-up company, the incubator has its own prototype lab, the Z10 FABLAB, where everything from a screwdriver to a 3D printer is used to develop new products.
At Z10 I met with Gémesi Zsolt, Director of the BME Z10 Start-up Center, who trains students to start-up companies, and Rusz Bertalan, incubation manager, who gave me a tour of the Z10 FABLAB and explained how the start-up center works in general.
The creation of an incubator, similar to the Z10 start-up Center, at the University of Crete would be an excellent idea. Such a place could become a meeting centre where students can meet with entrepreneurs looking for cooperation and pitch to investors interested in supporting innovative ideas, with the aim to raise funds to launch their venture in a sheltered innovation ecosystem with valuable support and services.
-- Maria Tsika
