As Research Centres and Institutes, faculty members, post-docs and students become more entrepreneurial and more focused on opportunities to commercialize intellectual property, and-or may be working in or managing a busy laboratory with multiple students and projects including projects with industry partners, it is important to document roles, responsibilities, and rights of the university, faculty members and students. These arrangements can be novel as well as complex.

Contact us to discuss your specific situation and objectives, and the QPI team will help you to develop and navigate a path forward.

The QPI team has experienced personnel to advise on commercialization strategies including licensing, option agreements, trade secrets, the creation of startups, the Foundry program, and incubation and acceleration programs.

Contact us to discuss technology commercialization objectives and opportunities.

Discoveries and inventions usually follow one of the two following commercialization paths: a license to an established company or a license to a newly formed startup company.

Contact us to discuss licensing strategies.

Upon request or invitation, the QPI team delivers brief training sessions for Departments and associated faculty members, and coordinates and delivers interactive sector-specific workshops to facilitate engagement between faculty members and industry.

Contact us to discuss your needs and interests.

The QPI team and partners offer numerous programs, workshops, and events for entrepreneurs, startups and SMEs in Eastern Ontario. To learn about upcoming workshops and events available via the QPI team, visit our Workshops and Events page.

Workshops & Events page

The Queen’s Market-Focused Research Workshop Series is a two-day program covering topics such as market/technology assessments, design thinking, intellectual property, effective communication, and commercialization strategies to support your research, research partnerships, and commercialization /startup formation activities.

The program is designed for graduate students (including those in professional programs such as Law or Medicine), post-doctoral fellows, and faculty members conducting research in fields in which knowledge mobilization or commercialization of the research outcome is likely or who have a startup idea.

To learn more and apply, visit the Market-Focused Research Workshop Series page.

The Market-Focused Research (MFR) Program is designed for graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and faculty members conducting healthcare-related research. The program emphasizes understanding the needs/wants of the market early in the research project so that the commercialization potential of the research outcome is improved. Participants will learn skills related to market/technology assessment, design thinking, intellectual property, communication, and strategies/considerations for technology commercialization. Expected outcomes include more successful grant applications, increased potential for partnerships with industry, increased awareness of Queen’s University research, an increased understanding of intellectual property and commercialization considerations. Participants will also become familiar with QPI’s commercialization services.

To learn more and apply, visit the Market-Focused Research Program page.

The QPI team offers resources to assist eligible startups, founded by faculty members, post-docs and-or students, with invention disclosure, intellectual property management strategies, startup formation, incubation and acceleration programs, and connections to local partners in the innovation ecosystem.

Please visit our page for entrepreneurs, startups and small to medium-sized enterprises.