Griffith Enterprise, the commercialisation office of Griffith University, is revolutionising the way universities around the Asia-Pacific region maximise benefit from research.
Griffith Enterprise Director, Mr Nicholas Mathiou, said the innovative approach involved creating business units within the University to deliver knowledge-based products and services directly to the customer.
“These enterprises create a third line of business for the University in addition to existing consultancy and commercial research and technology transfer,” Mr Mathiou said.
“We have redefined how university intellectual assets can deliver economic and social dividend,” he said.
Once an enterprise is created it turns knowledge, intellectual property and ideas into a thriving business that sits within the University structure. This approach to commercialisation is in contrast with traditional models where commercial ventures ‘spin out’ of the university, taking with them intellectual property rights and opportunities to develop future revenues.
“The key to the success of the Griffith Enterprise model is its multi-disciplinary, unified and holistic approach to research and commercialisation,” Mr Mathiou said.
“Griffith is able to draw on expertise from a diverse range of fields and combine that knowledge in products and services which generate positive outcomes for the University,” he said.
The University’s Asia-Pacific Centre for Franchising Excellence is a leading example.
The Franchise Centre was established in 2009 in response to a market opportunity in the $128 billion Australian industry. The Centre delivers research based knowledge to the franchise industry and this then becomes a catalyst for better decision making and positive change.
“An added benefit is that The Franchise Centre allows Griffith to conduct more research which in turn amplifies the reputation of the University as a leader in research activities,” Mr Mathiou said.
“It also introduces students to the University and creates new discretionary revenues,” he said.
Griffith University is projecting revenue from the Griffith Enterprise model to grow significantly over the next three years. This will make commercial revenue less susceptible to fluctuations in funding cycles.
Griffith University was recently named as a Top 10 Australian Research University in the Excellence in Research for Australia 2010 National Report.
About Griffith Enterprise
Griffith Enterprise is the University’s commercialisation and technology transfer office and is responsible for the management, protection and commercialisation of the University’s intellectual property portfolio. We promote innovative commercial knowledge exchange programs which assist industry, government and the community to make better decisions.