Innovation, development & Tech Transfer

Question 1

Define innovation:

Answer 1

Process of developing new ideas and inventions to the point at which they are ready for commercial and public sector use.

Question 2

What is the purpose of innovation?

Answer 2

To create new technology

Question 3

How can invention be summed up?

Answer 3

– It cannot simply be ordered to happen.
– Invention can be encouraged by a sympathetic social attitude and an awareness of the fields that are most in need of new discoveries
– Invention is not always dependent on advanced technological training but it is more likely to emerge from such a background
– Invention is only weakly dependent upon the particular phase of the economic cycle, but encouragement for and exploitation of the invention is more likely if times are favourable

Question 4

Why don’t all inventions become innovations?

Answer 4

• the idea may not be good enough;
• not enough resources are available to develop the idea;
• well-established comparable or competing solutions already
exist.

Question 5

How does an invention become an innovation?

Answer 5

Ten steps to innovation:
1 Identify a need.
2 Produce an original and creative solution; you now have an invention!
3 Check for originality (patent and literature searches).
4 Don’t upset the apple cart (like trying to alter the way a keyboard is arranged).
5 Build a working model (both to check out the idea and to demonstrate it to others).
6 Learn the patent system and protect the invention (not too early or too late).
7 Decide how to produce it; be realistic about demand and costs.
8 Sell yourself with the invention.
9 Find yourself a product champion (inventors don’t usually have the skills, authority or capital to make their invention a success).
10 Persevere! Successful innovation requires exceptional commitment and effort.

Question 6

Define entrepreneurship:

Answer 6

Entrepreneurship: Shifting economic resources out of an area of low and into an
area of hi productivity and greater yield. (Ends of entrepreneurship is economical
and does not need to involve technology)

Question 7

Define Technology push:

Answer 7

Invention provides the stimulus for innovation

example: compact disk

Question 8

Define market pull:

Answer 8

Customer need is the stimulus for innovation

Question 9

What is product innovation?

Answer 9

includes progressive improvements and introduction

of new products

Question 10

What is system innovation?

Answer 10

Developing all the elements needed to carry out the
function – turnkey project.

Question 11

What is the process of research and development?

Answer 11

1 Pure Basic Research
2 Directed Basic Research
3 Project Applied Research
4 Operational Applied Research
5 Component Development
6 Systems Development

Question 12

What are the two main approaches when it comes to liability?

Answer 12

Negligence and strict

liability

Question 13

How must one prove that there was negligence?

Answer 13

– The injured party must show that there was a defect in the product and that that defect caused him/her injury or loss
– 2ndly he/she must show that the defect resulted from negligence of the designer/manufacturer in that they failed to exercise a
reasonable duty of care in the design/manufacture of the product
– 1 st step of duty from designer/manufacturer would be to insure that the product met the relevant statutory requirements

Question 14

How can one increase the emphasis on safety?

Answer 14

• When hazards cannot easily or inexpensively be removed by good design, the inherent risks must be communicated clearly to those responsible for preparing product warnings and instructions
• A comprehensive hazard assessment is essential.
• The requirement to prove misuse can be costly and a constraint on product development