London, ON – In a move that consolidates the city’s academic technology transfer initiatives, Fanshawe College has partnered with WORLDiscoveries, a business development initiative that helps researchers and local inventors commercialize their discoveries through licensing opportunities and new company spin-offs.
Led by The University of Western Ontario and Lawson Health Research Institute, WORLDiscoveries has served as the business development arm of London’s extensive research network since 2008, providing industry connections and sector-specific market knowledge to the city’s 2,000 researchers who carry-out more than $250 million in studies annually.
Since its inception, the consortium has created eight start-up companies and generated more than $5 million in annual licensing income from research in the city, while also remaining a national leader in the number of inventions disclosed.
Now, Fanshawe has joined the fold.
“The College is open for business, and this is an important opportunity for us to advance our objectives while making London increasingly attractive for investment,” says Greg Weiler, Dean of Applied Research, Innovation and University Partnerships at Fanshawe. “With our renewed focus on research and partnerships with the private sector, it was a natural progression for us to become a part of WORLDiscoveries.
The move has been designed to encourage greater cooperation within the city’s research and business development ventures, to share expertise and make better use of finite resources, and to serve as a template for other university/college opportunities.
“We have been very successful in capitalizing on the combined strengths of our partners to generate real-world value from research carried out at our partner institutions,” says Paul Paolatto, Executive Director of WORLDiscoveries. “We look forward to working with Fanshawe on a model that identifies additional opportunities for future growth, while continuing to translate discoveries into products and services of financial value.”
Contact:
Paul Paolatto, Executive Director, WORLDiscoveries: 519-850-2307, 519 852 3680 (cell), paul.paolatto@worldiscoveries.ca
Greg Weiler, Dean, Applied Research, Innovation and University Partnerships, Fanshawe College: 519-452-4292, gweiler@fanshawec.ca
Douglas Keddy, Research Communications Coordinator, The University of Western Ontario: 519-661-2111 ext. 87485, dkeddy@uwo.ca
