Commercialization, American-Style

Universities in Russia are starting to adopt American tactics, like business incubators and spin-off companies, when it comes to commercializing their research, says The Chronicle of Higher Education's Goldie Blumenstyk. The project, called Enhancing University Research and Entrepreneurial Capacity — Eureca, for short — is an attempt to build stronger ties between Russian academia and industry, and will consist of several Russian research universities working with teams from four American institutions "to learn the nuts and bolts of technology transfer and other approaches for collaborating with industry," Blumenstyk says. Last year, Russia adopted a law allowing researchers to commercialize their own findings, but they lack the expertise needed to start, she adds.