Last month saw the publication of WIPO’s new bi-annual IP report, entitled “The Direction of Innovation”. The report is packed with insights, bringing a combination of powerful observations that really hit home backed by data-driven analysis that look deeply into how and why innovation flows.

A key perspective of the report points to the split of economic benefits which go to society (social benefit) vs. returns to private sector investment (private benefit). Spoiler warning: a clear example is the lightning-paced work occurring from the time Chinese scientists sequenced and released the mapping of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in January 2020, to Covid-19 public vaccinations – barely a year later. While many may point to big pharma’s eye-popping profits, the WIPO report shows that the quantifiable portion of the economic benefits to society are roughly 900x those of the revenue earned by the private sector!

The best laid plans… how global crises affect innovation ecosystem participants

On 7 April 2022, WIPO’s IP and Innovation Ecosystems Sector (IES), hosted a short conference to present summary findings of the report, accompanied by a lively panel discussion. Marco Alemán, head of WIPO’s IES, introduced the key concept of how dependent major innovation outcomes are on the influence of each participant in the ecosystem: nations, institutional scientific and engineering research, and private sector investment. However, major events beyond the control of public policy makers shape outcomes, usually via crises, such as war, pandemic and natural disaster. Those crises have enormous impact on research and innovation outcomes. Look at how penicillin development rose in direct response to battlefield infections.

Reflecting academia, industry & government, panel’s views on setting of the direction of innovation

In introductory remarks and presentation of the panelists, Dr. Carsten Fink, head of the IES Department of Economics and Data Analysis, provided illustrations of the change in pace and focus of innovation since the industrial age. As society made its lunge forward in technology in the 20^th century, it did so in recognizable big waves, i.e., engine/transport > pharma > ICT > digitalization, today.

And some funny things happened on the way to the IP forum. A most recent example is digital-related innovation: it has grown 172% faster than all patents over preceding five years.

Lively panel discussion

Introducing themselves and their work, each panelist drove home the reality of innovation acceleration. The panelists included Victor Aguilar, Procter & Gamble’s Chief R&D and Innovation Officer, Dr. Xiaolan Fu, Professor and Founding Director of Oxford University’s Technology & Management Centre for Development, David Kappos, Partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, and former Director of the USPTO, and Caroline Ylitalo, Division Scientist at 3M. Here a few items that resonated with me:

Views from academia, industry and public sector

• Dr. Fu highlighted the case of under-the-radar innovation taking place in developing economies, and how digitalization is changing adoption patterns into and out of LDCs. But it’s not only permeability and diffusion that are changing, it’s also about the impact on labor and the growth in services from disembodying know-how and delivering expertise digitally.
• From the corporate side, 3M’s Caroline Ylitalo spoke of major challenges and trends we face as society. She highlighted the impact of crisis and the opportunities they may arise from it, shown in the surge in demand for N95 masks, and visible also in the utility gains from the digital world’s access to masses of technical information, along with the advent of ideation tools and collaboration platforms.
• P&G’s Victor Aguilar drove home the point of digitalization’s impact for P&G’s goal of improving life, ranging from AI’s contribution to retailing optimization, to its role in designing smart toothbrushes, and to the increasing importance of identifying relevant innovation arising outside P&G.
• Cravath’s David Kappos highlighted how dependent the realization of huge economic output and the delivery of the benefit to society are on making sure ecosystems’ participants do what they do best (per their respective missions)
  • Private sector develops suitable commercially defensible applications,
  • Inventors and their institutions need access to the tools – including collaborative networks – to help convert their innovative insights into invention disclosure and products
  • Governments alone needs to provide money and structure of well-reasoned incentives to grow and make accessible the bounty of fundamental research;the private sector’s need to provide returns to owners makes investment in basic research prohibitive.

Public and private motivations: even if not aligned, good neighbors enable a productive existence

The role of government policy and its ability to create a fertile bed of fundamental research is a topic receiving significant attention. And well it should. Thoughtful and economically supportive public policy for fundamental research can produce huge big social benefits. Once they’re convinced of the business potential prospects, the private sector gets busy converting discoveries from a trove of basic research into commercialized inventions. That’s not all, as “de-risked” innovations come into focus, industry dramatically increases its share of development expense.

Beginning in the 1950s, the space race led to the creation of NASA in the US and its enormous role in driving aerospace research and creating in the process a rich network of public-private collaboration. Sponsored research was involved of course, but government purchases of innovation-based products from the private sector – there was no other buyer – were also a critical factor in clearing a path to commercialization of those space-age inventions.

Enormous productivity flowed from that inventive output which created social benefits many times those of the gains for the private sector in a broad array of fields, such as energy storage, photovoltaics and nuclear energy.

The grand challenges facing us and the need to pay attention to the direction of innovation

As the world faces climate change, ongoing food insecurity, the need for higher levels of education and the preservation of privacy rights, to name some big ones, government can play an important role. While the public sector can’t do a great job of predicting private sector winners, it can do things to even out the playing field through incentives, such as by purchasing from innovative smaller firms willing to take the risk of developing emerging technology.

There is so much inside this report, I am moved to invoke lyrics from OMC’s 1995 hit single, How Bizarre, but with a twist: you don’t need to “buy the rights”, WIPO grants you a free readership license, so download their great Intellectual Property Report 2022: The Direction of Innovation – and enjoy its valuable insights.

BTW, keep an eye out for a future SeedSprint blogpost where we’ll get more into the weeds on a topic WIPO cares a lot about: increasing the efficiency of the critical interplay between innovation-seeking large enterprise on one side, and technology providers on the other, i.e., institutional intermediaries such as TTOs, along with risk-taking micro and SMEs (MSMEs) in the private sector.

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At SeedSprint, We’re always on the lookout for disruptive innovation in industries like biotech, medtech, chemical and materials, energy, and beyond. Here are five innovations that caught our attention this fall.

(1) Secure AI Labs 

MIT spinout Secure AI Labs (SAIL) has created a platform that encourages greater collaboration in the healthcare industry. The platform enables organizations to share encrypted patient data protected by SAIL’s AI algorithm. In the end, innovations like SAIL invite broader healthcare discoveries powered by larger, cross-functional data sets that don’t compromise om patient privacy.

(2) Tia

Female-led healthcare company Tia is revolutionizing women’s health with its holistic healthcare service offerings. Tia offers comprehensive primary care, mental health, and gynecology services both in-person and virtually. The company recently raised a $100 million Series B, which the company will use to scale its geographic and demographic reach. Stay tuned for more exciting updates from Tia soon!

(3) Amazon’s Astro

Amazon’s first home robot, Astro, is an interactive surveillance technology intended to monitor your home while you are away. Astro’s movement is limited to the home and the owner can remotely access its camera and microphone. Amazon plans to bring Astro to market soon, so keep your eyes peeled!

(4) UPS drone delivery

UPS’ Flight Forward drone service recently received government approval to service commercial entities, including hospitals and college campuses. This milestone marks a national adoption of drones as a means of streamlining and maximizing delivery service capabilities. Are residential drone deliveries next? UPS thinks they’re not far off!

(5) Spring Health

April Koh, CEO of mental health platform Spring Health, recently became the youngest female multi-billion-dollar startup leader as the company secured a $190 million Series C. Koh started Spring Health in response to the financial inaccessibility of mental health services and the lack of digital mental health options. Now, she is determined to establish Spring Health as a sustainable public service that offers expansive mental health benefits. We can wait to see what’s next for KOhn and her team.

Innovation happens fast and it can be difficult to keep up with all the exciting developments happening every day. Subscribe to our newsletter for monthly updates on the latest in innovation and more from our community.

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In this installment of ‘Emerging technology startups profiled on seedsprint,’ we explore startups developing innovative chemicals and materials across diverse applications from biotechnology to consumer goods to sustainability. Here are some up-and-coming young chemical and materials companies that you’ll find on the SeedSprint platform!

(1) BrightSpec (Focus: Analytical Chemistry; Based in Charlottesville, VA)

BrightSpec’s instruments tap into the power of molecular rotational resonance (MRR) spectroscopy. MRR complements other techniques such as Mass Spectrometry or NMR, but can also solve problems that these methods can’t. Using breakthrough technology developed by Brooks Pate at the University of Virginia, BrightSpec made this powerful technique significantly faster, cheaper, and easier to use. BrightSpec is in the process of working with leading biotech, chemical, and environmental players to bring innovative solutions to these applied markets. View SeedSprint profile.

(2) Cirrus Materials Science (Focus: Performance Coatings; Based in Auckland, New Zealand)

Cirrus Materials Science develops stronger, more environmentally-friendly materials. The company’s low energy, low impact processes require minimal transition effort for clients and offer maximum performance benefits for products. Because of their innovative processes, Cirrus Materials Science is always ahead of the curve on environmental and sustainability benchmarks. View SeedSprint profile.

(3) Sixonia Tech (Focus: Graphene Formulations; Based in Dresden, Germany)

Sixonia Tech’s E-Graphenes are few-layer, large flake graphene materials that are functionalized and formulated to meet your processing requirements and tailored for perfect interaction with the desired matrix system. Graphene is a promising material and has many applications, including in polymers or ink formulations. Sixonia Tech identifies the most suitable E-Graphene for the specific application and develops the right material form and properties for perfect integration into a number of applications. View SeedSprint profile.

(4) HyMet Thermal Interfaces (Focus: Electronics Materials; Based in Riga, Latvia)

HyMet offers a new class of thermal interface materials with high thermal anisotropy, excellent conformability, and a high level of customizability. The technology has applications in computing, telecom, e-mobility, and consumer goods. HyMet focuses on physics rather than chemistry, meaning it has tremendous design freedom to spread heat, deform plastics, wet surfaces, and much more. View SeedSprint profile.

(5) NS Nanotech (Focus: Semiconductors; Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan)

NS Nanotech develops innovative Nano-LED Technology. The company’s far-UV ShortWaveLight™ Emitters are the world’s first semiconductors to produce invisible, short-wavelength ultraviolet light that researchers say inactivates coronavirus while posing less risk of harm to skin and eyes than longer-wavelength light. Their nano-LEDs will be used in the coming generation of micro-LED displays for brighter, ultra-high-resolution, greater energy efficiency, and very small display sizes without sacrificing performance. View SeedSprint profile.

(6) Fairbrics (Focus: Synthetic Textiles; Based in Clichy, France)

The fashion industry produced almost 5% of manmade CO2 emissions in 2015 – more than aviation and shipping combined. Synthetic fiber production accounts for around 40% of total fashion industry emissions. Fairbrics is developing the first synthetic fiber with a net positive impact on climate change and is capable of meeting the demand of the market. The company is setting up a pilot plant to be able to scale the technology and will open an industrial plant in a few years capable of producing commercial volumes of polyester fiber. View SeedSprint profile.

(7) Cemvita Factory (Focus: Synthetic Biology; Based in Houston, Texas)

Cemvita Factory applies synthetic biology to reverse climate change, ultimately decarbonizing heavy industries. Cemvita’s vision is for humans to live in harmony with nature. To do so, they are determined to remove one gigaton of CO2 by 2050 – that’s 2.5% of 2020 global emissions. Cemvita partners with companies and applies synthetic biology to help companies on their energy transition journey. View SeedSprint profile.

Young chemical and materials companies like these on SeedSprint are developing cutting-edge technologies applicable across many different fields. Keep an eye out for future installments of ‘Emerging technology startups profiled on SeedSprint’ to discover more game-changing innovations with us!

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Clean energy is quite the buzzword these days…but what does it mean? Further, how is it different from energy sources like oil and gas? Read on to learn more about this exciting technology area and some of the emerging clean energy companies you’ll find on SeedSprint!

Clean energy vs. fossil fuels

The majority of the world’s energy comes from the carbon-rich deposits we now call fossil fuels. Fossil fuels include coal, natural gas, and oil. Together, they supply about 80 percent of the world’s energy.

When they are burned, fossil fuels release carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Unfortunately, these greenhouse gases build up in the atmosphere. This buildup causes global temperatures to rise. In the end, burning fossil fuels contributes to environmental damage and climate change.

Further, fossil fuels are non-renewable. As we continue to use them, they run out. By contrast, clean energy recycles the earth’s resources.

Clean, green, sustainable, and renewable

Many people use terms like clean energy, green energy, sustainable energy, and renewable energy interchangeably. However, there are some key differences between these terms.

• Clean Energy is derived from sources and methods that minimize the production of greenhouse gases like carbon.
• Green Energy is derived from natural sources. It minimizes the production of environmental pollutants like carbon.
• Sustainable Energy is derived from sources that will theoretically be able to produce power far into the future.
• Renewable Energy is derived from naturally replenishing sources, such as biofuels.

Around the world, people and companies continue to adopt new power sources. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, sustainable energy will account for half of our global energy mix by 2030.

Here are a few of the pioneering clean energy startups profiled on SeedSprint. With their technology, they are working hard to help us meet our growing power demands.

(1) SAFCell (Pasadena, CA, USA)

SAFCell has developed a novel solid acid technology that can be used in fuel cells and hydrogen generators. Using electrocatalytic reactions, the company’s SAFCell stacks convert liquid fuels into electrical energy or hydrogen. The stacks also help minimize carbon emissions. The technology also has several advantages. For example, it can metabolize a variety of different types of fuel. Further, it operates at moderate temperatures is relatively inexpensive. View SeedSprint profile.

(2) Active Energy Systems (Knoxville, TN, USA)

Active Energy Systems’ novel ice thermal storage system makes air conditioning more energy-efficient. The company’s Ice Chiller leverages Icephobic Heat Exchange technology. This innovation repels ice from the cooling surface. This prevents insulating ice from building up. In the end, it cools large spaces at a low cost. View SeedSprint profile.

(3) b.fab (Dortmund, Germany)

b.fab’s proprietary bioproduction platform converts carbon dioxide and hydrogen into value-added chemicals and biofuels. The company produces formic acid from readily available carbon and hydrogen. From there, aerobic or anaerobic microbes convert the formic acid into chemicals. This process is both sustainable and cost-effective. View SeedSprint profile.

(4) 247Solar (Great Falls, VA, USA)

247Solar generates power by heating air to activate microturbines. Any additional heat that is produced is then stored for later use. 247Solar’s solutions can also store energy and generate power in solar, wind, or industrial settings. Ultimately, 247Solar fills the gap between solar energy production and consumption. View SeedSprint profile.

(5) Ionomr Innovations (Vancouver, Canada)

Ion exchange materials are vital to the operation of many clean energy technologies. Unfortunately, many of the traditional materials used contain toxic fluorine. That’s where Ionomr comes in. The company is commercializing a range of novel ion-exchange membranes and polymers. From fuel cells to hydrogen production systems, Ionomr has got you covered. View SeedSprint profile.

Sustainability and innovation

Curious about the impact of sustainability on innovation? Check out our past blog posts on green chemistry technologies, Microsoft’s climate pledge, or General Motors’ commitment to becoming carbon-neutral. Stay tuned for future installments of ‘Emerging technology startups profiled on SeedSprint.” Catch you next time!

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At the end of June, our team attended Part One of a series on Diversity & Clinical Trials hosted by Johnson & Johnson Innovation and Newlab. The talk, entitled Access and Trust, featured panelists Ramona Burress of Janssen, Eric Roberts of Real Chemistry, and Sophia Goodison of GSK. Kimberly Tableman, CEO of Medicine X, moderated the event.

The discussion centered on the importance of recruiting diverse participants for clinical trials. It also highlighted some of the challenges and potential methods for establishing access and trust in clinical trials and beyond.

The panelists emphasized that building health equity is a collaborative process. It requires conscious, continuous effort and communication from all trial stakeholders: clinicians, participants, and sponsors.

Communicating with trial participants early and often

Clinical trials for new therapeutics and medical technologies aim to produce broadly applicable results. To ensure that new drugs and devices can help as many people as possible, Burgess, Roberts, and Goodison stressed that clinical trial leaders and staff must maintain clear and consistent communication throughout the trial. Clear communication helps trial leaders and staff to continuously gather input from participants. 

As such, the panelists strongly urged trial sites to initiate dialogue with participants as early as possible. Early patient engagement makes for more efficient, lower-cost studies. Most importantly, early engagement is an opportunity to build trust before a trial starts.

Consistent and transparent communication translates to participants feeling appreciated. They may also view trial site clinicians as more reliable and trustworthy. In the end, that trust yields higher retention and, consequently, stronger results.

Utilizing communication technologies to inform, educate, and empower

Poor communication in clinical trials can lead to hesitancy, distrust, and subject dropout. Roberts stated that effectively utilizing communication technologies, like smartphones, in clinical trials “informs, educates, and empowers.” Ultimately, communication technologies can enable higher levels of trust among participants.

Smartphones and similar devices are also important tools for addressing barriers to access. They can circumvent physical distance as an obstacle by virtually bringing trials to participants. They can also help clinicians identify disparities in healthcare access.

Further, communication technologies help streamline the informed consent process by providing clear, detailed answers to participants’ questions. Communication technologies are a powerful force in bridging gaps in accessibility, educating trial participants, and enabling trust.

Social media and the power of infectious trust

Social media plays a powerful role in shaping public perception. People are continually exposed to information through social media and often use it to research answers to questions they have. As such, it is critical to consider the role that the accuracy of information shared via social media (or lack thereof) could impact participants’ trust. In turn, trust can affect retention and a study’s effectiveness. 

Social media also has many benefits. For example, social media influencers can play an important role in amplifying trust. Collaborating with social media influencers is a creative way to increase clinicians’ reach to populations who may not even be aware of their eligibility for certain trials. 

Considering influencers’ power on consumer behavior to create what Burress called “infectious trust” may aid a trial site’s efforts at repairing hesitancy and addressing any concerns participants have.

Developing inclusive technology in any industry

At SeedSprint we facilitate collaboration between startups, universities, and corporations that fosters positive and sustainable change. 

While the J&J Innovation and Newlab Series on Diversity & Clinical Trials is focused on clinical trials, its themes resonate in product development for all industries. Innovators in technology areas from chemical and materials to software to transportation and beyond can learn from the panelists’ wisdom.

Understanding how to develop widely accessible technology that can benefit as many people as possible is essential to forging more inclusive innovation ecosystems. We must listen to the prospective beneficiaries of our technology, gain their trust, and empathize with their needs. In the end, their insights will help us develop solutions with the greatest impact.

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Last week, we attended a talk with best-selling author Jordan Ellenberg hosted by the Brooklyn, NY-based Secret Science Club. Ellenberg spoke about his new book, Shape: The Hidden Geometry of Information, Biology, Strategy, Democracy, and Everything Else (you can purchase the book from independent bookstores online).   

In addition to being a best-selling author, Ellenberg is a professor of Mathematics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an expert in arithmetic geometry. In his talk, he made compelling arguments for geometry’s relevance to a wide range of topics, from politics to epidemic management to the stock market, and even baby name trends. 

Geometry and government 

Throughout his career, Ellenberg has applied his mathematics expertise to many different sectors. For example, he once presented a brief to the Supreme Court about how mathematics can be used to take party bias out of redistricting.  

As is, the state legislature decides upon redistricting, allowing current members to prioritize their future political victories. In Ellenberg’s words, “legislators are given the key to their own district preservation.” His solution? A mathematical concept called the random walk. In this process, randomly moving objects wander away from their starting point. Random walks are frequently observed in physical and biological sciences — and perhaps soon, in government and politics (thanks to Ellenberg). Essentially, this principle could be used to create logical district maps, taking politicians’ input out of the matter and instead favoring proportional representation.  

Geometry and language 

Another interesting tidbit Ellenberg discussed was the role of geometry in predicting language. Firstly, he used n-gram language models such as bigrams and trigrams to generate baby names based on the letter combinations of popular baby names. The result? Baby names that sounded eerily familiar to ones you’ve heard even though they were not common.

Some examples he provided included “Corby,” “Melicia,” and “Luxton”. Sometimes, real names were produced as well, capturing English style successfully. For example, when using popular names from 1971, he generated both “Jean” and “Jeane.”  

Ellenberg then used a GPT-3 API to generate strings of English text from a geometry textbook. The GPT-3 API returns a natural compilation of phrases when given a text prompt. His experiment resulted in artificial English sentences that looked like humans could have written them. They sounded correct, yet lacked meaning. Pretty cool! 

Geometry and innovation 

The bottom line: geometry can apply to all STEM disciplines, not just mathematics itself. Who knows, perhaps geometry could be the key to developing your next great innovation! 

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We recently attended the (online) 2020 XR Access Symposium, where we learned from accessibility leaders with expertise in extended reality (XR). Not familiar with the term XR? XR refers to immersive technologies like virtual, augmented, and mixed reality. Everything from virtual reality (VR) headsets to Pokémon Go to mixed reality glasses are considered to be XR.

We’re big fans of the XR Access initiative, which was launched by Cornell Tech and Verizon Media in 2019, with support from the Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology (PEAT). Their mission is to make XR technologies more accessible to people with disabilities. And, they have high hopes for XR — they think it has the potential to pave the way for the future of accessible tech.

After all, there’s a lot of buzz about XR these days. And with good reason. XR allows us to access people, places, and experiences regardless of physical distance or other limitations.

In the age of social distancing and Covid-19, XR can make us feel closer even when we are apart. XR can help people who struggle with low vision navigate the world more effectively or help people who are hard of hearing enjoy audiovisual media.

At the symposium, the experts weighed in on these topics and more. Here’s what they had to say about how XR will make the world more accessible — and how you, the technology developer, can design tech with inclusivity in mind!

Considering accessibility needs during product development

Erin Hawley is a writer, gamer, and accessibility consultant who has written extensively on the importance of making AR/VR and video games more inclusive. Over the years, Hawley has worked on a number of exciting projects with some of the biggest names in tech. She worked with Microsoft to develop the Xbox Adaptive Controller. She’s also helped Logitech, EA Games, and Adobe review the inclusivity of their products.

As an experienced product tester, Hawley had some important advice for technology developers. She urged them to consider accessibility needs from the very beginning of product development. “It is much easier to include accessibility features before starting playtesting (the point in video game development when prospective users test the game for bugs or design flaws),” she said; it is very difficult to work backward. As a result, many games and devices don’t become accessible until the next update comes out — which can take years.

So what advice does Hawley have for technology developers? She recommends hiring more individuals with disabilities to test products before bringing them to market. And she emphasized that hiring product testers means paying them for their time. “Our time and knowledge are work,” she said. “Asking for our feedback needs to be done fairly.”

The role of language and culture in enabling access

Language and culture should also be considered when designing products and services that are truly accessible. In Europe, for example, hundreds of different languages are spoken. How can you design to accommodate people who speak different languages?

Dr. Pilar Orero, a professor at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona and co-founder of the Media Accessibility Platform (MAP), has some tips. Orero’s research focuses on accessible captioning. “Accessibility and inclusion need to be a given when developing new technology,” she said. And this means including speakers of different languages. “Otherwise, we don’t understand each other,” said Orero.

Orero is an opera-lover, and she’s on a mission to make it accessible to all. She thinks VR can help. She and her team have used Oculus Quest and Google Home technologies to display captioning in multiple languages and to activate subtitles using hand gestures and voice commands. “Many Europeans do not have access to cars or live in rural areas. Virtual access to the opera allows people to immerse themselves in the culture from anywhere,” she said.

XR and the future of work

Joel Ward, a technology strategist and XR Product Manager at Booz Allen Hamilton, wants to see virtual reality integrated into the future workplace. Remote work may be the new normal, but are companies ready for the transition? According to Ward, “Our technology is not quite ready…XR, virtual reality, and augmented reality need to get better.” But sooner than later, he said, XR will be “a larger part of what we do.”

The “virtual office” will enable greater inclusivity, Ward argued. “Making workspaces accessible to everyone could be the silver lining in all of this.”

Ward, whose youngest son has Cerebral Palsy, is passionate about using technology to improve access. He is active in the XR Access community and helps the organization evaluate the accessibility of different technologies. He is hopeful that technology developers will do their part to design with accessibility in mind.

As a technology developer, here are steps you can take to make your tech more inclusive — through product development and beyond.

First, understand your end-users’ needs. Your users are diverse, and they have different needs. Experiment with features that will make your tech work for them. Remember, one size doesn’t usually fit all.

Your users are your greatest resource! Incorporate their feedback as you iterate on your design. After all, their buy-in could make or break your technology.

Involve user experience designers and accessibility experts throughout product development. They may be able to help you design a product fit for all users — not just some. Not only will you expand your user base, but you’ll empower your users, too.

We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

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Nurturing entrepreneurship is central to our mission at SeedSprint. One way we achieve this mission is through our Startup and Technology Ambassadors for Recruitment (STAR) program for undergraduate and graduate students in STEM. Through the STAR program, interns learn about technology transfer and commercialization by researching and engaging with science-based startups, research institutions, corporate R&D leaders, and incubators and accelerators. One of our STAR interns, Hannah Polk, is an undergraduate Natural Sciences and Communications major at the University of Pittsburgh and took a course last semester called Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Technology. After taking this course, Hannah has five tips for budding entrepreneurs, and especially, scientist-entrepreneurs, new to the world of innovation!

(1) Research. Research. Research. An idea, no matter how groundbreaking it sounds, is only as important as the problem it solves. When developing your product or service, conduct market research and user research to ensure there is a market for it and people who will use it. The best way to conduct user research is by interviewing your prospective users or customers. Do your prospective customers need your product, or would it just be nice to have? 

(2) Always be ready to pitch your ideas. You are the expert on your ideas. Your ideas may have the potential to disrupt your field, but you still have to convince others, too. Having a well-rehearsed elevator pitch that you can deliver with confidence and passion will go a long way. 

(3) Grow your network. Take advantage of networking opportunities at conferences and events and through personal introductions. Even spending 5 minutes chatting with someone can lead to a valuable new connection. The person you are speaking with may know someone who would be an asset to your team or may know about a new product that competes with yours. He or she may even become your mentor. You never know how another person can help you achieve your goals, so always be networking!

(4) Manage your time. Keep a calendar broken down by day, week, and month. You may prefer to separate your business and personal schedules, but either way, keep work-life balance in mind. Set and work toward short and long-term goals along the way — you will feel good knowing you are always accomplishing something! 

(5) Adopt a growth mindset. You may reach a point where you become stuck, but moving forward is what matters. Frame your challenges as opportunities for learning and growth. Learn to acknowledge your weaknesses, accept feedback, and adopt a growth mindset of continual learning and improvement. 

So, how can you put this advice into practice? Here are some easy ways you can get started!

Develop user personas. Before you dive into interviewing your prospective users, develop user personas to guide your research. User personas are semi-fictitious representations of your target users. Many marketing thought leaders like Hubspot and CleverTap have great resources to help you take the first steps!

Sign up for Seedsprint. Our platform is free for startups, research institutions, and nonprofits and is available to corporate subscribers at a flat fee. Our profile templates help you tell your startup’s story clearly and succinctly and our messaging feature enables you to connect with industry partners!

Attend a virtual conference. As people practice social distancing, virtual events happen weekly. These events are usually more affordable than in-person events and are still great for networking, so register for one…or five!

Set one goal per day. Set just one goal per day to help you stay productive, organized, and motivated! You can even add the goals to your calendar to help you stay accountable.

Take an online course. Want to improve your project management skills? Don’t know enough about marketing? Many universities offer certificate programs and courses that help you build new skills in just about any field! 

Good luck! You got this!

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Every year since 2006, the European Union’s Joint Research Center (JRC) surveys the top 1,000 EU-based corporations (the EU1000) about their R&D strategies. Using the results of this survey (featuring 134 responding corporations this year), the JRC has identified several interesting R&D trends. These should prove useful for identifying collaboration opportunities with European firms.

The firms surveyed, which range in size from less than 2,500 to more than 50,000 employees, have truly global R&D footprints. Only 9 of the firms surveyed perform R&D in a single country, while over 1/3 of the companies perform R&D in 10 or more countries. Access to research talent (both quality and quantity) is the primary factor in determining where to focus R&D, while labor costs were the least important. Countries with highly-educated workforces were considered top prospects for R&D centers. Germany is the most popular place in the EU, with over 40 companies listing it in their top 3 countries for R&D. The United States was selected by over 60 companies as a top 3 location, making it the most popular location for R&D overall. Additionally, R&D spending by EU-based firms is expected to grow most substantially in India over the next few years – a whopping 10.4%. China had previously been the winner in this category, but is still the undisputed runner-up, with an 8.4% expected increase. The placement of manufacturing activities is most strongly influenced by access to markets, causing manufacturing activities to be more evenly dispersed around the world.

R&D operations at the surveyed European firms are not exempt from the commotion surrounding Brexit. In 2018, only 4% of the responding companies expected Brexit to impact their R&D strategy. However, the number of concerned companies quadrupled (to 16%) for 2019. UK-based firms and firms with R&D activities in the UK were more likely to expect an impact.

A majority of the reported R&D investment reported in 2018 – 75% of it – went to development and applied research. Basic research accounted for only 9% of R&D investment. This distribution has been relatively constant since 2016 when the survey first collected this type of information. These companies, which represent the most successful firms in Europe, have consistently emphasized development over research. Because of this, the authors suggest that such a distribution could indicate an optimal allocation of in-house R&D resources. After all, there are other players in the innovation ecosystem that specialize in basic research (universities, publicly funded research institutes, and deep tech startups). Perhaps the basic research is best left to them. We suspect that open innovation tools like SeedSprint will be valuable in connecting large, private companies with these basic research players, so that EU1000 companies can focus even more on the development and applied research they specialize in.

Small firms (<2,500 employees) invest significantly more in basic R&D than average (15%). Interestingly, R&D budgets for medium-sized firms (2,501 and 10,000 employees) emphasize the acquisition of machinery, equipment, software, and buildings. Automotive and transport firms spent the least on basic research while chemicals and materials companies spent the most.

According to the surveyed executives, the most important research areas for staying competitive in the future were sustainable technologies, AI, and big data. In line with the European Green Deal, all but 2 of the companies surveyed have environmental sustainability policies in place or plan to implement them in the next 5 years.

Check out the full report here! Though we tried to highlight some of our favorite points in this piece, the report explores all issues in more depth.

The post Commentary on 2019 EU Survey on Industrial R&D Investment Trends appeared first on seedsprint.

Earlier this month, the seedsprint team attended the Inside/Outside digital design symposium hosted by NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering and held at their Makerspace: two days of discussion about digital design and 3D printing. Day one, Inside, focused “on medical uses and how to communicate and prototype around the very small.” Day two, Outside, focused “on built environments, working with scales greater than 1:1.”

One of the Inside presentations that’s given us a lot to think about was Amy Hurst‘s talk on developing assistive technology for individuals with disabilities. Hurst is an associate professor of Human-Centered Computing at NYU and Director of The Ability Project . She researches accessibility challenges and her primary focus has been developing DIY design and fabrication tools so that others can “DIY’ and build their own assistive technologies.”

In her talk, Hurst explained that she wants to overcome the idea that designing technology is an engineering practice–identify the problem, provide an engineered solution. Hurst notes that this approach has historically resulted in uneven uptake by end-users. The products were the wrong color, the wrong size, the wrong material, the wrong shape. Instead, designers and technology-developers should focus more clearly on each individual user to better understand their needs and preferences. And in fact, today’s digital design and fabrication tools allow designers to do that. The process Hurst teaches encourages designers to more carefully consider user needs, and they involve the end-user throughout the design and production process. The result is a more user-focused technology and an end-user who has been empowered by participation and who is more invested in the resulting technology. That empowerment, Hurst says, ultimately leads to greater acceptance and use of the assistive technology.

Hurst’s research into DIY takes this end-user focused process further. What could be more empowering than DIY tools and technologies that allow people to create their own assistive technologies?

For us, Hurst’s talk was an important reminder that our focus should always be on the users of our platform. Are we understanding their needs? Are we providing the right tools and capabilities to help users meet those needs?

To close her presentation Hurst identified a handful of lessons she and her colleagues have learned while teaching digital design and fabrication, several of which will seem familiar, whatever your field:

• Time is the most expensive resource. Specifically, people’s time is expensive.
• Design with familiar tools. In Hurst’s courses, students create technical drawings and models in clay before moving to digital design and fabrication.
• The learning curve is steep. Students often have difficulty conceptualizing the digital fabrication process.
• Equipment matters. Production tools like 3D printers should generate products in forms end-users want or need.
• Size matters. Prototypes should be the same size as the final product. If not, end-users can’t give effective feedback.
• Materials matter. Similar to the size rule, prototypes should use the same materials as the end product, so end-users can effectively evaluate it during design consultations.
• Communication with fabricators matters. The professionals who operate the fabrication tools have specific information needs and designers need to learn how to provide it.
• Promote collaboration and open communication. Projects that feature open communication and strong collaboration among everyone involved have been the most successful.
• Peer-learning works best. In Hurst’s courses students matched with similarly qualified peers gained skills better than students matched with more advanced students.

How many of Hurst’s lessons do you recognize from your own process of designing products that best serve your end-users?

The post Empower the end-user: lessons From a digital assistive technology design expert appeared first on seedsprint.