Creation of technology-based companies promoted

Members of the Science Advisory Council (CCC) launched the digital platform Technology-based Companies to promote the creation of industries that capitalize the use of knowledge generated within public research institutions or centers in Mexico.

In an interview with EL UNIVERSAL, Dr. Enrique Galindo Fentanes, main promoter of this platform, explained that the goal is “to make visible to the population, but above all to researchers, students, and public institutions and centers, the opportunities available for creating new technology-based companies in the context of the new bill approved in 2015 and that makes an exception to the conflict of interest researchers had.”

Previously, researchers were considered public officials and were prohibited from doing businesses with their work's results. Now, according to Galindo Fentanes, the new law lets them capitalize “the investigation efforts of many years and generate resources through the implementation of knowledge and transfer of technology to release new products into the market, without patents ceasing to belong to public institutions.”

Galindo assures that the creation of this kind of companies has been successful in other countries, like China and the United States, and has made them a knowledge economy.

“Although there are many companies of this type worldwide, that is not the case in Mexico. This would represent a boost to our country, in terms of creating companies which require highly qualified labor. It would be best if the same generators of knowledge were the ones who formed these new companies and who demanded highly qualified personnel with good salaries in order to transform from a manufacturing economy to a knowledge-based industry, which creates high-quality employment, with good pay and which can compete with international markets,” said Galindo.

One of the main advantages of this scheme, according to the platform, is that everybody wins. On the one hand, public institutions will receive royalties from the exploitation of their investigations, and on the other, society will have innovative products in the market, while workers with high levels of specialization would have a well-paid job.

To know more about the initiative, visit www.ccciencias.mx/en

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