Are you interested in learning more about a career in innovation beyond the bench? Would you like to connect with Cornell alumni who are engaged in careers in this sector?  Skills in tech transfer are applicable to many career paths beyond becoming a technology transfer professional: patent examiners, patent agents, business development, sales & marketing, economic development, regulatory scientists, lawyers, licensing specialists, and entrepreneurs all use these skills.

You can receive a robust training, be exposed to a wide range of emerging technologies, and gain experience in technology assessment, market research, and venture support through Cornell’s Center for Technology Licensing Practicum, launched in 2019. Read about one practicant’s experience: CTL Practicum, Your First Step on an Alternative Career Path with Your Graduate Degree.

More information about the CTL Practicum.

The next application deadline is in the fall.

The Center for Technology Licensing (CTL) Practicum launched this experiential internship program at CTL for graduate students and postdocs to gain valuable exposure to the process of commercialization of university-based research. Up to five ‘practicants’ are selected annually, depending on application numbers.

The 2020 cohort:

Ithaca Office

Jin Liang, Research Associate, Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology
Martin Liu, PhD Candidate, Food Science
Julia Miller, PhD’20, School of Integrated Plant Science [see her interview with Graduate Women in Ag Science]
Adam O’Neal, PhD Candidate, Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology
Luc Truong, now sales development representative
Ruby Xu, M.S. Student, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering

Weill Office

Rachel Leicher, Graduate Student, Tri-Institutional (Tri-I) Program in Chemical Biology (TPCB)
Olga Lyudovyk, Graduate Student, Tri-I Computational Biology and Medicine

Network with colleagues

Prior to this formal launch, several Careers Beyond Academia/BEST participants have had flexible internship-type experiences at CTL through a less formal arrangement, as described in this article: Applying Experiential Learning to Career Development Training for Biomedical Graduate Students and Postdocs: Perspectives on Program Development and Design:

• Jin Liang current research associate at the Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology
• Julia Miller (PhD ’20 Plant Molecular Biology) now an AgBio Technology Transfer Fellow at Michigan State University
• Gunner Johnston (PhD’19 Immunology & Infectious Disease) now a technology associate
• Sabrina Solouki (PhD’19 Immunology & Infectious Disease) now a medical science liaison
• Meera Govindaraghavan (postdoc ’14-’15) now a patent agent
• Madhur Srivastava (PhD’18 Biomedical Engineering) now an assistant research professor

And others did internships in previous years…

• Parag Mahanti (PhD’13 Chemistry and Chemical Biology) now Director of Strategy and Operations, Managed Markets Business Planning at Novartis
• Haixin Chang
• Maria Nikolou (postdoc alumna) now Entrepreneurship lead at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
• Soorena Izadifar (MBA’05) now in Licensing & Innovation Partnerships at ThermoFisher
• Sanjana Mangalgiri, now Chief Patent Counsel, Lead International Counsel at Allstate
• Michael Herschorn ’17, now analyst at Millenium

Contact them to ask them about their experiences!

Selection Criteria for the CTL Practicum

• Demonstrated interest in technology transfer, innovation, entrepreneurship
• Commitment and availability for 10 hours per week (please check your eligibility with your funding source)
• Ability to attend patent meetings and inventor meetings with Licensing Officers
• Approval of the research advisor.