On September 20th, the Innovation Festival at the University of Bergen (UiB) was arranged for the first time. It brought together staff and students from all faculties, as well as representatives from companies and organizations that have made significant progress in innovation and establishment processes, or can contribute to such efforts (e.g. the Norwegian Industrial Property Office).

The program struck a good balance between inspiration and specific advice concerning the innovation process and support functions. Some important reminders surfaced, such as: protecting an invention does not necessarily mean applying for a patent. Depending on the product, idea and purpose, one can, for example, enter into a licensing agreement with a company that uses a method or protocol but keeps it secret, or register a trademark.

There were also reflections on the idea that, in our era of open access, one should not necessarily share ideas or inventions just for the sake of openness, but consider the values of one’ inventions and how they can be exploited. Once published, it is usually too late, so this needs to be considered early on.

Professor Daniela Elena Costea from the Department of Clinical Medicine gave an exciting presentation on targeted drug delivery using nanodiamonds. However, innovation can also be an integral part of dissemination. Researcher Irene Baug from the Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion demonstrated how virtual reconstructions of medieval buildings can give a vivid impression of Bergen’s past. There should be ample opportunities for disseminating results from medical research in a similar manner.

The day concluded with the awarding of this year’s UiB Idea grants. Two of the student projects awarded with grants originate from K2: A new external defibrillator by Mads Malm Svenningsson (supervisor Vegard Tuseth) and Kasi – a case study app for medical students by Erlend Thue, Jesper Andreas Viste, Gard Andreas Svendal, Jonas Hodneland Sundfjord, and Trond August Flatås (supervisor Harald Gotten Wiker). Congratulations!

More detailed coverage of the event can be found here.

When the second Innovation Festival is hopefully held in 2025, I hope more K2 staff will take the time to participate.