Vrije Universiteit Brussel

The mission of the VUB TechTransfer is to stimulate and support the transfer of innovative knowledge and technology of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and her association partners (the university hospital UZ Brussel and the Erasmus University College) to industry and society.

As a link between research and society VUB TechTransfer supports researchers in every collaboration phase with industry and society and proactively searches for interested partners to valorise research results.

You can contact VUB TechTransfer for advice and support concerning:

Contract research for the industry

We can bring companies in contact with the expertise they are looking for. The resulting research agreements between the company and the researchers are then formalized in a contract by the legal experts of VUBTechTransfer. They support drawing up, negotiation and follow-up of all kinds of research related contracts. This implies taking care of aspects such as the right to publish, confidentiality of the research results and the protection and ownership of intellectual property rights, in coordination with the company.

Protection of knowledge 

Management of intellectual property starts with analysing research results to see if they can be patented or protected in another way. VUBTechTransfer manages the patent portfolio of the UAB and – together with the researchers – looks for interested licensees. We also negotiate and discuss possible license agreements.

Valorisation and creation of spin-offs

The advisors of VUBTechTransfer give support to the researchers of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, UZ Brussel and the Erasmus University College when designing a valorisation strategy. If this results into a spin-off, we can offer assistance in drawing up a marketable business and financial plan. Furthermore we provide a vaste range of practical support measures when creating a spin-off.

Management of financing channels

VUB TechTransfer supports the management and operation of the Industrial Research Fund (IOF) that controls the ways and means of applied and strategic research aiming at valorisation. An IOF-coach supports the IOF-core groups and growers.

The advisors of VUB TechTransfer offer concrete support for designing valorisation trajects in Flemish, Brussels, federal and European research financing applications.

QBIC Fund is the first inter-university seed capital fund in Brussels-Flanders. It is a multi-sector fund supporting spin-off companies of the Ghent, Brussels, Antwerp and Liège university associations and of VITO. The QBIC Fund came into operation in June 2012. It is the successor of the BI3-Fund of the VUB and the Baekeland II-Fund of UGent. The two universities pooled the expertise of their respective tech transfer offices to improve the success rate of high risk company creation, through economies of scale.

Technology Offers and Communication

VUB TechTransfer can take care of communicating the (protected) technology and knowledge that has been developed by researchers of the UAB to the outside world; this through participating at exhibitions, composing publications concerning research, organising ‘Industry-Technology’ days, actively following up the Flemish Innovation Network (VIN), etc.

(ADVANCED) Starter Seminars

VUB TechTransfer organises a yearly introductory course on entrepreneurship and since 2014 a series of follow-up sessions.

CROSSTALKS, the university and industry network of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel 

This unique, interdisciplinary network platform involving university and industry exists since 2003. CROSSTALKS offers an open exchange platform to all possible stakeholders associated with a specific topic or issue, putting forward actual themes (such as affordability of health care, energy-efficiency,…)