I'm a Student
A. Protecting my university invention
When it comes to inventing something as a university student and determining intellectual property ownership, it is crucial to be aware of the policies and agreements in place. Here are some general guidelines:
University-Sponsored Projects: If you are working on a project that is sponsored by your university or a research grant, the intellectual property rights may be subject to specific agreements or policies. Typically, the university retains ownership of intellectual property created by its employees or students while providing inventors or creators with certain rights or royalties.
Independent Research or Coursework: If you're working on an independent project or research outside the scope of university-sponsored initiatives, you may have more ownership rights over the intellectual property you create. However, it is crucial to review any agreements or policies related to your coursework or program to ensure there are no specific provisions regarding intellectual property ownership.
Collaborative Work: If you're collaborating with other students, faculty members, or external partners on a project, it's important to establish clear agreements regarding intellectual property ownership before starting the collaboration. These agreements should outline the rights, responsibilities, and potential commercialization plans for the intellectual property generated.
You may consider consulting your faculty mentor or potential faculty collaborators to explore support in protecting your intellectual property through SMU and accessing other commercialisation grants to scale your project.
For more information on intellectual property and other useful resources, please visit the knowledge centre on this website.
View Global Innovation Immersion if you are interested in applying for overseas internship
View Business Innovations Generator if you are interested in availing incubation support for your start-up
B. Finding SMU's intellectual property for starting a company
PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and research engineers have the valuable opportunity to actively engage in research under faculty guidance. We highly encourage these students to have a conversation with the KTC team if they are interested in launching a company based on their research project.
For students interested in starting a company with intellectual property, we invite you to explore the SMU technologies available for licensing. You can find more information on available technologies HERE.
If you are interested in collaborating with a research faculty member to establish a research-backed startup, please take a look at our SMU Research Areas and Faculty. KTC provide available support for such collaborative projects.