The support of Intellectual Property (IP) and its commercialization is a developing area in the College sector. At Loyalist College, this work is supported by the Applied Research and Innovation Office (ARIO) and Business Development Services. Applied Research at Loyalist College has been built on the successes of our Centre for Natural Products (CNP). Now in its second, five-year term as a Technology Access Centre, the CNP actively supports the commercialization of our clients’ products, moving their projects up the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) ladder, seeing some projects move from a level 1-2 to level 7-8. Our client roster now features clients who have who have patents or who have applied for patents because of work completed with the CNP, with our researchers being named as known inventors on patent applications.
Over the past year, ARIO has expanded. The launch of the Centre for Healthy Communities (CFHC) in January of this year marks an important moment for IP development and commercialization at Loyalist College. This new research centre of excellence in social innovation, health and wellness is funded through an NSERC’s Mobilize grant and supports not-for-profits, public, and private institutions to develop responses and solutions to challenges that impact upon social determinants of health. Its launch has invited us to reconsider what IP development and commercialization looks like in this non-traditional, innovation space. As we develop new approaches, processes, methods, programs, and more, all of which can have immense impact on communities and individuals, locally and globally, we must reflect on how we share these social innovations. We must ask ourselves: how best can we support a wider and more diverse audience and what role does IP and commercialization have in this conversation?
As we reflect on the links between traditional innovation pathways, social innovation, and commercialization, we are called on to ask how we can best support our community of innovators broadly. As our purpose-built innovation hub, Accelerate Loyalist, comes online, we are acting on our commitment to support the commercialization journey of regional entrepreneurs and students in our community. Loyalist continues its efforts to update our Intellectual Property and Commercialization Policies while simultaneously developing IP resources for innovators of all kinds. Our rural location makes our role as a hub of access, facilitator of connections, and education provider essential to the students we teach, the educators we employ, and the businesses and communities we support. Having strategies, policies, and resources that aid these partners to realize their research and development goals while protecting and managing their IP, is key to the commercialization of research and innovation that is Ontario-made, and Loyalist grown.