Academic Entrepreneurship and commercialization of research results in Iranian universities (Case study of seven Iranian universities)

This paper reviews the factors affecting universities approaching to academic entrepreneurship and search to clarify the concept of entrepreneurial university. The paper is based on a case study done on academic entrepreneurship and research commercialization in the seven major Iranian universities. The study investigated the current situation of four important activities: protection of university IPs, licensing and transferring of university IPRs, establishment of university Spin-off Companies, contract research with industry and other organizations, with respect to: the acting organization, the personnel engaged, the work process and performance of these activities in 2006 with in the surveyed universities. The mentioned four selected activities within the framework of this study are consistence to academic entrepreneurship and research commercialization literature. The paper concludes that the process of IPs protection in the universities is recently being established. Contract research with industry is maintained but other activities like licensing and creation of Spin-off Companies has yet to be materialized.