The Sydnovate Fund provides critical financial support for research projects with commercial potential.
These funds will be used to:
- Strengthen University Patents, especially by reducing inventions to practice during the 12 months period between Provisional filing and PCT filing.
- Strengthening the University’s copyright portfolio.
- Develop ’unripe’ projects into licensable opportunities by reaching critical milestones and demonstrating feasibility.
Preferred opportunities should have high commercial potential and a practical nature that cannot be funded by regular scientific research grants.
Conditions
A typical amount of $50k per project will be made available to a few projects a year, but not more than $100K per project. The preferred project duration will be up to one year.
A return-on-investment mechanism is built into Sydnovate Fund agreements with the aim being to grow the Fund, making more funds available in the future. 50% of the first future commercialization income will be paid to the Sydnovate Fund, with a cap of 200% of the grant amount. The remaining amounts will be distributed to the Inventors, the School and to the University as per the University IP Rule.
Eligible projects include:
- proof of concept activities;
- reduction to practice;
- demonstration in a laboratory setting;
- critical experiments;
- construction of prototypes;
- testing in animal models,
- comparisons with alternative technologies or materials and
- development of software and other copyright materials.
The funds can be spent either within the University (but excluding expenditure on staff salaries or student scholarships) or externally in situations where the University does not have the required capability.
As this is an internal University fund, projects should be budgeted without overheads.
A report is required to be submitted at the end of the funding period.
Students will be required to assign their IP to the University as a condition precedent to their participation in the projects.
Selection criteria
Opportunities will be assessed on a competitive basis and will include consideration of the following selection criteria:
- Only projects in respect of which the applicant has completed a Record of Invention form will be considered.
- Only projects without strings attached, which could be commercialised by the University at its sole discretion will be considered.
- Only projects to which the IP rule (1/3-1/3-1/3) is applied without waivers or concessions will be considered.
- Preference to patents or patent applications or software and other copyright materials solely owned by the University (not jointly owned).
- Preference to funding that will render the project capable of being commercialised (lower preference to funding aimed at increasing values of a project that can already be commercialised).
- Preference to request to fund materials, animals, processes or services. Lower preference to requests to buy equipment.
Decisions will also take into account the quality of the IP, commercialization potential and in the case of patentable inventions, timeliness relative to patent life. Decisions to fund will be made in the absolute discretion of the Sydnovate Fund Committee.
How to apply
A Sydnovate Fund Application may be initiated either by a Researcher or by Sydnovate. Applications may be submitted at any time, via internal mail or by email to Sydnovate.
Applications will be reviewed by the Sydnovate Fund Committee and decisions will be made quickly.
Application form
Source: University of Sydney Press: http://sydney.edu.au/sydnovate/staff/sydnovate_fund.shtml
