Technology transfer society 2006 annual conference: the role of knowledge in innovation processes: Atlanta GA, USA 27-29 September 2006.

The Technology Transfer Society (T2S) held its annual meeting at Georgia Tech's impressive Hotel & Conference Centre. The theme of the conference was Next Generation Innovation: New Approaches and Policy Design. The 100 plus presenters from 16 countries gave talks on a wide range of technology transfer and research and innovation policy topics. By all accounts (this was the first time I had attended the T2S meeting) the quality of the research presented at this conference has improved markedly in recent years and I saw plenty of evidence to confirm this trend.

Formed in 1975, T2S is a non-profit organization devoted to the interdisciplinary scholarly analysis of technology transfer and the dissemination of best practices in technology transfer from universities and federal labs to firms (and vice-versa). The Society sponsors the Journal of Technology Transfer, and the registration fee for the conference includes a year's subscription to the journal, edited by Barry Bozeman (U Georgia), Al Link (UNC Greensboro) and Donald Siegel (UC-Riverside) who is also the current president of T2S.

The conference itself ran in four to five streams giving plenty of choice but not too many conflicts for the audience. The emphasis on entrepreneurship and technology transfer from universities and research laboratories was very poignant given many regions around the world are attempting to emulate the success that some universities in the USA have achieved in creating regional development through commercialisation from scientific research. This interest was reflected in the range of countries represented, for example, including Korea, Ukraine, India, Australia and Brazil. The diversity made for some wide ranging discussions on the applicability of technology transfer initiatives in different settings and cultures.

The plenary presenter was Michael Cassidy, President and CEO of the Georgia Research Alliance, a public/private partnership of business, research universities and state government that drives Georgia's strategy for capitalizing on innovative, university-based research and development with the intent to 'build a thriving, technology-rich economy'. Cassidy outlined an impressive array of investment initiatives which focused on four areas: bringing eminent scholars and their teams to Georgia, building national centres for research and innovation, funding research laboratories and equipment and on technology transfer. The scale of the investment and the speed with which the Alliance was implanting their strategy was probably the envy of many in the audience.

For those outside the USA, the brevity of the conference (1.5 days) might be an issue with respect to distance travelled, but this is a small, well-focussed conference which would be very rewarding for those with a specialist interest in technology transfer, particularly from public sector research. The next T2S conference is scheduled to be hosted by Donald Siegel in California. Watch the T2S website for more details: http:// www.t2society.org/

REPORTER

SALLY DEVONPORT

University of Victoria, Wellington