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“Proof of concept (“valorisation”) projects” Programme, a new means to finance research conducted by the Grup UB

By 18 de January de 2007No Comments
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 18.01.2007

“Proof of concept (“valorisation”) projects” Programme, a new means to finance research conducted by the Grup UB

"Does your research have practical applications? Does it cover a need?" With this slogan, the Universitat de Barcelona (UB, University of Barcelona), through the Agency for Assessing and Marketing Research Results (Agència de Valorització i Comercialització dels Resultats de la Investigació ()), has launched the "proof of concept projects" programme with the aim to boost the transfer of research results produced by the Grup UB to society.

Through calls, the “proof of concept” programme provides funding for scientists who belong to the Grup UB. This funding is provided to support the management and costs of research projects that are highly innovative and with the potential to produce knowledge or technological innovation that has practical applications. The funding granted is assigned on the basis of the characteristics of each project, with a maximum award of 200,000 € per year for two years, which, in exceptional circumstances, can be extended to three.

In this regard, this new programme seeks to commercialise intellectual property and know-how generated in the Grup UB by increasing on the one hand, the value of the knowledge or technology of the project and on the other its commercial potential. The programme is supported by the Santander Bank through a collaboration agreement established by the UB to boost the Innovation System of the Grup UB.

“Initiatives like this one responds to the needs of academic research groups for funding to facilitate the development of activities orientated to applications that can be transferred to society”, commented José Mª Palacios, director of AVCRI. The research projects that apply for this funding will be studied by an evaluation committee, comprising experts from the Innovation system of the Grup UB and the Santander Bank, and will be managed by a project team headed by AVCRI.