Innovation Alliances and Services
William Tucker, IAS Executive Director
Innovation Alliances and Services (IAS) promotes the translation of research discoveries into innovative products and services that are developed and produced by regional, national and global companies. IAS acts at the systemwide level to leverage opportunities to enhance individual campus-based efforts at building industry partnerships and collaborations. Such opportunities include:
- Managing programs designed to enhance university-industry relationships (e.g. the UC Discovery Grant and UC Discovery Fellows program)
- Creating tools and initiatives to help connect external parties to researchers on the campuses
- Identifying successful campus programs and approaches, and promoting the adoption and deployment of best practices across campuses
- Supporting the Institutes for Science and Innovation, as they leverage their unique structures within UC to forge alliances with industry
- Supporting technology transfer operations, by providing information systems, financial management, patent prosecution and intellectual property management services.
IAS also provides support to the President's Board on Science and Innovation, which advises the UC President in areas of university-industry alignment.
IAS is guided by the recognition that effective alliances transcend any single transaction or functional area, and that taking a broad view could lead to new opportunities to enhance this vital strategic element of UC's public service mission by creating or enhancing tools, training and programs to serve UC's professionals who operate at the university-industry interface. These professionals work in diverse areas, including Development, Corporate Relations, Research Development, Entrepreneurship, Industry Sponsored Contracts and Intellectual Property Management and Business Development.