Salford's Sarwat Howe leads the way in technology transfer with unique government placement
The University of Salford’s Intellectual Property and Commercialisation Manager, Sarwat Howe, has just returned from a five month placement at the Government Office for Technology Transfer (GOTT) - a successful opportunity for knowledge exchange between the University and government.
GOTT is a unit within the government's Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which was established to support the UK public sector to unlock the potential of its knowledge assets to deliver value to the economy and society. Whilst Technology Transfer Offices play a crucial role within universities, GOTT is a world-first – giving Sarwat a very unique experience of technology transfer within government.
Here at Salford, Sarwat works alongside Paul Cihlar, Head of Commercialisation, in our Technology Transfer Office (TTO), which is part of the Research and Knowledge Exchange directorate. Facilitating the commercialisation of research and innovation, Sarwat helps academics turn their discoveries into much-needed products and services to boost the impact of their research. Her role involves working to identify valuable intellectual property generated by academic research, protecting it through patents or other legal means, and connecting researchers with business partners and investors.
During the secondment with the Government, Sarwat worked in various teams across GOTT to get a true feel for what the organisation does as a whole. Her activities ranged from offering expertise on policy queries, providing technical knowledge on commercialisation projects, and helping to shape, deliver and evaluate a webinar series to upskill public sector employees in commercialisation. Additionally, Sarwat’s also had the chance to experience the civil service in action during the pre and post election periods and how the government operates in these critical times.
Following her return to the University of Salford, Sarwat has shared some reflections on her key learnings from the experience:
1. Technology Transfer isn’t all about big breakthroughs
Before joining GOTT, I hadn't considered the differences in the missions of universities and government, reflected in the knowledge assets they generate and how they do technology transfer. Within universities, the primary objective is to push the boundaries of our knowledge for lasting social and economic benefit, by carrying out cutting-edge research and delivering top quality teaching. Whereas in government, it is to support citizens by providing public services that can improve the way we live and grow our economy.
Whilst on my secondment, I couldn't help but notice the abundance of Knowledge Assets owned by government that aren't necessarily seen by the public, but that play a crucial role in ensuring that public services can be delivered effectively. For example, the National Underground Asset Register (NUAR) is a digital map of under group pipes and cables, which will help those who plan and carry out digging work to do their jobs more effectively and safely. This will minimise disruptions to the public and businesses, enhance infrastructure development and improve overall public services.
These innovations, as is true of many others in government, are based on incremental changes that can transform the way we live for the better.
2. Culture change takes time
One thing I really enjoyed during my time at GOTT was working in a new area for government and seeing first-hand how knowledge assets generated by the public sector have the potential to be translated into new goods and services for the benefit of the economy and society.
Coming from a university background, where many institutions have been doing technology transfer for decades (and have continued to adapt and refine their strategies), I found it eye-opening and energizing to experience an environment where technology transfer is still a relatively new practice. It is going to take time not only to understand how to do technology transfer in government, but also for the value and benefits from this important activity to become apparent.
I look forward to seeing this area of work grow in government, and in particular how GOTT is going to create change in the public sector when it comes to exploiting knowledge assets.
3. Technology Transfer is a contact sport
I have repeatedly heard this phrase throughout my career, as in my experience the success of technology transfer projects is down to having the right team of people behind them. I quickly realised this was true during my time at GOTT too.
There are so many people involved in getting a product to market – not just the innovators behind the idea, but also the people behind the scenes who put enabling systems in place to break down barriers to commercialisation. In GOTT there is the capability enhancement team, that delivers training and upskills the public sector in KA management, the funding team, that identifies and support projects along the innovation lifecycle, the Technology Transfer team, that provides practical, hands-on advice to organisations on the best way to commercialise their KAs, as well as many other teams pushing GOTT’s work forward.
It’s always inspiring to work with people who care so much about what they do, and heartening to see it takes just as much collaboration and joined up effort for technology transfer to happen in government as it does in universities.
What’s next for me?
We have a really strong community of researchers here at the University of Salford who are working hard to solve problems in the world around us. I’m excited to bring my learnings back to my role at Salford and help our academics to amplify the impact of their research across a diverse range of projects.
Having previously worked in a well-established technology cluster based in the southeast, I have seen how a closely-knit ecosystem can benefit the local economy - and I can see the potential for something similar in Salford. Making local connections, where you can call upon your network for support, is incredibly important for this line of work.
GOTT’s headquarters are on our doorstep in Salford, which is an excellent opportunity for us. We've been saying that Salford is a place where ideas are formed that shape the world and I'm excited to see how my relationship grows with GOTT and how we can continue to contribute to the innovation ecosystem in our city region and beyond.
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