Knowledge and technology transfer within the Helmholtz Association
The Helmholtz Association is committed to carrying out ambitious basic research geared towards practical applications in the real world. The transfer of knowledge and technology plays a decisive role in achieving this. It ensures that research findings flow directly into society and policymaking processes or are channelled into commercial innovations. By sharing their knowledge and using their findings to create useful, commercially viable products, Helmholtz scientists make an important contribution to German innovation. The transfer of knowledge and technology has therefore become increasingly important within the Helmholtz Association. This is evidenced by the strategic decisions that are being taken within the association as a whole and by the specific activities being carried out at the individual research centres.
Transfer points in the Helmholtz Centres
The transfer of knowledge and technology within the Helmholtz Association is managed by the individual research centres. They work on many different topics with practical applications and produce complex technologies whose development demands a great deal of patience and requires a large amount of equipment – for example within the fields of energy research, nanotechnology and biotechnology. The “transfer points” in the Helmholtz Centres play a key role here as they act as interfaces between science and industry. They help to bridge cultural divides between the sectors and smooth the path towards commercial use.
Successful application of research findings
Knowledge and technology transfer within the Helmholtz Association takes various forms, such as “outward transfers” (e.g. a Helmholtz Centre scientist going to work in a commercial enterprise), political consultancy, the dissemination of socially relevant findings (e.g. in published studies or at events), and collaborative projects and licensing agreements with companies. The association has a successful track record of transferring research findings into commercial applications. Impressive figures attest to the success of knowledge transfer into companies, license agreements and spin-offs, but there are also numerous examples that illustrate the success of the work being done by scientists and transfer experts at the Helmholtz Centres.
Support from the Helmholtz Association
The Helmholtz Association has created a number of comprehensive funding programmes and instruments to support knowledge and technology transfer in its centres. These mainly cover measures to help commercialise research findings (via the new Helmholtz Validation Fund) and to support spin-offs (via Helmholtz Enterprise and the HEFplus management support scheme). Since April 2011, the Shared Services initiative has offered support to several transfer points.
Find out more about the funding options for technology transfer (in German)
