May 03, 2017
Institute ranks SIU 76th in nation for technology transfer
CARBONDALE, Ill. – A national organization promoting economic opportunity has ranked Southern Illinois University Carbondale among its top 100 in the country for technology transfer.
The Milken Institute’s Center for Jobs and Human Capital placed SIU at No. 76 out of 225 in the nation in its Technology Transfer and Commercialization Index of Universities & Research Institutions ranking, which it released in April.
The Santa Monica, Cal.-based Milken Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that seeks to grow global prosperity by advancing collaborative solutions that widen access to capital, create jobs, and improve health. The Center for Jobs and Human Capital promotes prosperity and sustainable economic growth around the world by increasing the understanding of the dynamics that drive job creation and promote industry expansion.
The report’s authors point out that innovative activities, along with their commercial applications, drive long-term economic growth in the country. Although research and development pushes innovation, the main catalyst remains the American research university.
“In the 21st century, public and private research universities are the seed capital for creating knowledge that fosters scientific- and technology-based economic development,” the report states. “…Creating human capital and conducting research, along with its efficiency as measured by output (patents, licenses executed, licensing income, and startups) relative to input (research expenditures), depict the production of good universities delivering on their mission.”
Robert Patino, director of the SIU Office of Technology Transfer, said the report confirmed that the university’s efforts in those areas compare favorably with other top universities with far more research funding – in some case six to eight times more – at their disposal.
“The report underscores the continued need for funding in our research and investment in our economic development centers to remain economic hubs in our respective communities and to attract scientists to pursue innovative endeavors,” Patino said.