PhD student Venelin Petrov, Department of Applied and Institutional Sociology: Criticism of academic technology transfer as an innovation paradigm

On May 11 th 2022, the lecture of Dr. Venelin Petrov examined technology transfer in the innovation paradigm. The lecture questioned academically based technology transfer as an adequate innovation paradigm for regional economic development. For this purpose, numerous arguments and data were presented for the theoretical and empirical failure of such policy initiatives. The main concepts and theoretical models arguing for the policies of “strengthening science-industry links”, turning universities into “entrepreneurial or third generation universities”, creating “technology transfer offices”, starting “academic spin-off companies” and so on. The thesis defended is that such policies are based on an extremely selective and often erroneous reading of the American innovation system from the end of the last century and the beginning of this century.