6 Boosting innovation

By building on a knowledge base, at the Institute, we are open for any kind of innovation that can significantly impact the quality of life of the population, as well as give the necessary impulse to the companies in order to capitalise on a cutting-edge knowledge.

NIC has created the supporting mechanisms for the innovators, helping them in development of the novelty, and transferring them from the invention to the innovation.

Especially important is the Knowledge Transfer Office, part of the national consortium for transfer of knowledge and technology, which consists of personnel with the expertise in filling the gaps in development of the idea and shaping it into the innovation.

The office offers the support through:

• Supporting researchers in protecting newly-created intellectual property that can lead to commercialization

• Raising the awareness of research staff about all aspects of the intellectual property

• Facilitating the protection of inventions through partnership with relevant patent protection agencies

• Building the bridges between researchers and the industry, where newly created intellectual property can be transferred

• Supporting the researchers in their entrepreneurial endeavours, in case they want to found a company around the invention / innovation they personally developed

Working hand-in-hand with the researchers, we are strongly supporting the expansion of the state-of-the-art knowledge base at the institute, paving the way to utilise the advantages market and society can bring once the innovation achieves its end users.

In order to support ground-breaking ideas, director and the Knowledge Transfer Office have started internal call for proposals NICKI, supporting the development of the invention till the proof of concept. This internal mechanism allows research staff to transfer the novelties into the viable value proposition that can be further developed, using partnerships with the industry or European financial instruments at disposal.