Park Points – August 19, 2024

Welcome back to another edition of Park Points, a quick recap of news, information, and events relevant to KU Innovation Park’s mission and vision.

Our newsletter has launched! If you’d like to get Park news as it happens, please subscribe here. See what you missed in the latest edition.

Tech transfer traps

Tech transfer sounds easy enough: academic researchers discover innovations in university labs, turn them into products, and then launch them into the commercial market. Without this process, things like Gatorade and Google wouldn’t exist in the public sphere. But the reality of tech transfer is complex, with plenty of pitfalls.

• Be on the lookout for common challenges in tech transfer, suggests John Strauss, a tech transfer consultant focused on biologics.
• Inadequate documentation, compliance issues, scaling up and communication breakdowns are among Strauss’s list of nine common pitfalls during the tech transfer process.
• But don’t fret. Strauss provides recommendations to avoid these unforced errors. For example, keep up with documentation through a centralized knowledge management system. Or note differences in facilities and equipment where the discovery originated and any new sites post-transfer.
• See the complete list with recommendations here.

At the University of Kansas, the Center for Technology Commercialization provides expertise for university-developed research and technologies. KUCTC has an office at KU Innovation Park and is an essential partner in the commercialization process and entrepreneurial ecosystem across KU’s campuses. If you need help, let them know!

The Park in photos

 The Park has been a hub of activity this summer! We’re out and about sharing our expertise and taking time to learn a thing or two at educational events.

• • 
    Olatunji Ajani, executive director of 1 Million Cups and FastTrac, speaks to 1 Million Cups Lawrence at the Park on August 14.
  • 
    Chris Rehkamp, the Park's director of business services, attended The Power of Entrepreneurship: Connecting Communities in Kansas City on August 15.
  • 
    Park CEO Adam Courtney speaks on a panel about economic development at the BioKansas Innovation Festival on August 16.
  • 
    The Phoreus Biotech team at the BioKansas Innovation Festival on August 16.
  • 
    Kalin Baca and Erik Blume of Icorium Engineering at the BioKansas Innovation Festival on August 16.
  • 
    Chris Rehkamp, the Park's director of business services, shares insights on a panel focused on startup funding at the BioKansas Innovation Festival on August 16.

• Home to 1 Million Cups Lawrence, the Park welcomed Olatunji Ajani, the executive director of 1 Million Cups and FastTrac for the Kauffman Foundation, to learn more about the origins of the entrepreneurial program hosted in cities around the country.
• The Park attended The Power of Entrepreneurship: Connecting Communities, hosted by KCSourceLink and the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. The event focused on the role of small business development and entrepreneurship in economic and community development.
• Plenty to see at BioKansas’ Innovation Festival! Park CEO Adam Courtney and Director of Business Services Chris Rehkamp were featured on panels about economic development and startup funding, respectively. Park companies Icorium and Phoreus Biotech joined in on the day.

Resource of the week: the Lean Startup The Lean Startup method is a scientific approach to creating and managing a startup that aims to get a product into customers’ hands quickly. It’s a way to create order instead of chaos by constantly testing your vision. Click the diagram to take a deeper dive.

News from the Hill

• The Park extends a warm welcome to Shelley Hooks, KU’s new vice chancellor for research. She began her new role on August 4.
• Congratulations to Matthias Salathe, M.D., who was named chief research officer for KU, which includes the medical center and The University of Kansas Health System.
• KU Aerospace Engineering launched its first CubeSat, a.k.a. KUbeSat-1, aboard a NASA-sponsored Firefly Aerospace rocket.

Upcoming events

• The Park’s next lunch and learn is focused on customer-centric strategies. Hear from serial entrepreneur Jaime Gassmann on Wednesday, August 28, from 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. The event is free, but registration is required as lunch will be provided. You can register here.
• Douglas County CORE’s Launchpad event, featuring a hackathon and entrepreneurial education, will be at the Park the first weekend of October. Learn more here.
• 1 Million Cups Lawrence is at the Park every Wednesday at 9 a.m. Organizers are always looking for companies to present, so get up and practice your pitch in front of a friendly crowd of local entrepreneurs and business leaders! Apply to present here.

Have news and notes to share? Let Lindsey Slater, vice president of strategic communications, know by clicking here.