challenges facing smes collaborating with heis

Agreeing Common Objectives

• You need to give as well as take

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Agreeing Common Objectives

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

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Agreeing Common Objectives

• Aim for honesty and openness

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Working with a big bureaucracy MLU

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Understanding of Commercial Pressures

•HEIs are primarily Government funded

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Understanding of Commercial Pressures

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

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Understanding of Commercial Pressures

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

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Timeframe

• Important to clarify time and cost inputs and returns

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Timeframe

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

initial contact to completion

http://www.techwench.com/the-perfect-timeframe-for-preparing-a-company-for-sale/

Costs

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

• Clarify costs and your needs early on

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Costs

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

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Cost exercise - debrief

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

from the market?

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Cost exercise - debrief

• Time – you cannot delegate this to a junior!

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Cost exercise - debrief

• Travel• Legal and other professional advice• Training

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Cost exercise - debrief

• Risk of failure

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• What is intellectual property?• Registered rights

• Patents• Trademarks• Registered designs

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

IPR

IPR• Case study, video

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

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IPR• Take advice!

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IPR• Identify a sympathetic internal HEI contact

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