TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER MECHANISMS IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

With modern institutional education developing more towards becoming innovation driven institutions that play
a direct role in the development of the economy and the technology competitiveness, technology transfer has
become a mandatory mission of modern educational institutions. The standard functions of teaching and basic
research by universities and government institutions have been supplemented by more entrepreneurial activities,
inducing diffusion and commercialization of academic knowledge to become a key policy and institutional agenda
(Bozeman, 2000; Cunningham et al., 2025). This change can be traced to the trends of global conversion to
knowledge-based economies where industrial growth and national competitiveness are based on scientific
discovery and technological progress (Arenas and Gonzalez, 2018; Audretsch et al., 2014).
The modes of transfer of technology between the universities and the industry have increased in magnitude and
in formalization and variety across regions. Early technology transfer was mostly an informal process which was
driven by scholarly publications, personal networks and faculty consulting but has since evolved into an elaborate,
multi-channel process that entailed patents, licenses, research collaborations and entrepreneurial spin-offs
(Grimpe & Fier, 2008; Maresova et al., 2019). These processes have become more professional due to the
emergence of so-called specialized technology transfer offices (TTOs), facilitating the efficient handling of
intellectual property, the signing of licensing contracts, and the promotion of academic entrepreneurship by
universities (Heinzl et al., 2013; Macho-Stadler et al., 2007; Pohlmann et al., 2022).
Comparisons between different countries reveal that the performance of technology transfer is highly influenced
by the institutional context. The institutional changes, like intellectual property systems based on Bayh-Dole
models, which enable universities to keep possession of the inventions funded by the state, have had an enormous
effect on commercialization rates in most of the areas (Craiut et al., 2022; Siegel and Phan, 2005). On the same
note, China, Austria, and Singapore have enhanced university-industry ties by instituting policies that propagate
collaborative research, encouraging academic patenting, and commercialization infrastructure (Heinzl et al., 2013;
Huang et al., 2025; Olvera et al., n.d.). In the meantime, the small technology innovation systems, including those
in India and some parts of Latin America, are still facing institutional capacity, resource constraints, and regulatory
complexity issues (Ravi and Janodia, 2022; Fuquen and Olaya Escobar, 2018).