Academic start-ups are an essential component of effective knowledge and technology transfer between science and industry and are based on research results from universities or research institutions. The step from basic research to applied research and thus to commercialisation is not yet sufficiently emphasised in this environment, as further development of the technology or innovation towards application is often still necessary.
To apply for a fellowship at the FFG, the following formal requirements must be met:
- The technologies or research results in question are owned by an organisation eligible to apply.
- A declaration of support from the host is available.
- The fellow(s) must be employed by the university or research institution at the start of the project.
- An individual IP exploitation agreement based on the respective spin-off strategy of the university or research institution is available.
The fellows (= potential founders) must concentrate 100% on the project activities during the term of the fellowship and may not carry out any teaching or other research tasks.
In addition, the fellows receive further training, coaching and mentoring through the network of knowledge transfer centres.
Those who decide to take up a fellowship are choosing a new career path away from an academic career at a university or research institution!
The following organisations are eligible to apply for a spin-off fellowship:
- Austrian universities
- Austrian universities of applied sciences
- Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW)
- Ludwig Boltzmann Society (LBG)
- IST Austria
- COMET centres
- Joanneum Research Forschungsgesellschaft mbH
- Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT)
- Federal museums, provided that they are not sponsored by a local authority
Applications must be submitted by an eligible organisation, whereby one organisation may submit more than one application for funding. The fellow takes on the project management and acts as the contact person for the FFG. If there are several fellows in a project, one person from the team must be nominated as project manager.
If the technologies or research results are owned by several universities and/or research institutions, a joint application by the above-mentioned organisations is possible.
Knowledge transfer centres support spin-offs on site
Local universities and research institutions are essential for supporting spin-offs. In order to improve the networking and coordination of their activities, so-called knowledge transfer centres were created in 2014. These centres serve as platforms and hubs for bringing together research results, new findings, technologies, inventions and expertise not only within universities but also across universities. The knowledge transfer centres therefore also play a leading role in the implementation of Spin-off Austria.
>> Knowledge transfer centres