UCF Executives Forge Ties with Colombian Universities to Support Emerging Innovation Economy

Orlando, Fla. --- University of Central Florida’s Office of Research and Commercialization was selected to participate in a special trade mission to Bogota, Colombia to share best practices and collaborate on opportunities for building technology transfer, commercialization and entrepreneurship capacity with some of the top universities, research centers and technology development organizations in Colombia. “Our selection to participate in this trade mission is a testament to our strength and leadership in providing a continuum of programs that result in successful technology transfer, research commercialization, and economic development outcomes” said Dr. Tom O’Neal, associate vice president for Research and Commercialization at UCF, and founder of UCF’s internationally recognized Business Incubation Program. Michael O’Donnell, executive director of UCF’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Rafael Caamano, director of the UCF Business Incubation Program in Kissimmee, and Robin Phelps, team leader in UCF’s GrowFL program represented UCF on this trade mission. The three met in Bogota with representatives of 20 Colombian universities and research organizations to discuss technology transfer processes, entrepreneurship support services, and capacity-building programs. The three-day trade mission was jointly sponsored by iNNpulsa, the Colombian government agency that supports innovation and entrepreneurship, the U.S. Commercial Service in Bogota, and intellectual property and technology transfer law firm Becker & Poliakoff. "The objective was to exchange knowledge and experiences and explore opportunities for collaboration," O’Neal explained. “The caliber and the quality of the collaborative opportunities were outstanding” stated Michael O’Donnell. “We received a large number of expressions of interest from the Colombian participants for follow-up discussions,” O’Donnell added. In addition to UCF’s structure and approach to technology transfer, other areas of interest were UCF’s Venture Lab and Business Incubation programs as well as Florida Angel Nexus capital fund. One new program that generated quite a bit of discussion from the participants is UCF’s U.S. Soft Landing Program, a series of services and access to facilities intended to connect international startups with marketing, businesses development and other services, according to Caamano. “International startups can tap into the rich ecosystem of commercial opportunities in the U.S. We already have our first Soft Landing client from Colombia,” Caamano said. “Our participation in this program is consistent with and is in support of one of UCF’s top strategic goals to be America’s leading partnership university. This was an opportunity to forge stronger international academic ties with a country that may just be one of the greatest turnaround stories in recent history,” stated O’Neal.