ROUNDTABLE: Leveraging Academia and Government Funding for Smarter Innovation Ecosystem Development

In alignment with the theme “Smart Cities, Smarter IP: IP and Licensing Strategies for Sustainable Smart Cities,” this session will explore how academic innovations in fields like energy, green technology, and life sciences can be transformed into impactful technologies. Highlighting a recent $8.26M funding from the NSF, KCV aims to revolutionize academic commercialization and public-private partnerships for regional innovation-based economic development. During this presentation we will focus on the following key aspects:

1. Creating Innovation Pathways: This section will explore how universities and research institutions, in collaboration with industry and government, can create robust pathways to bring academic innovations to smart city environments.
   • Takeaway: Attendees will gain insights into creating regional collaboration models that leverage multiple institutions’ strengths to advance smart city technologies.
2. Funding & Investment Strategies: Funding plays a crucial role in bringing smart city technologies from idea to implementation. This segment will address diverse funding sources and strategies to attract investment in high-impact projects.
   • Takeaway: Attendees will learn about structuring funding strategies that combine public and private resources to accelerate the commercialization of technologies critical to economic development.
3. Cross-border Collaboration: Strategies for creating regional, national, & international collaborations to address region-specific challenges in ecosystem development.
   • Takeaway: Attendees will leave with actionable insights on creating regional and international collaborations that facilitate technology transfer and adapt innovative solutions for global smart city markets.