The ExSACT project aims to simplify and optimize public investments in research and technology infrastructures while navigating state aid regulations. It focuses on improving industry-academia collaboration within the European Scientific Research Infrastructures (ERIs) by addressing complexities in intellectual property rights (IPR) transfer and funding allocation.
By clarifying state aid rules and enhancing understanding of IPR management, the project seeks to streamline investment processes, encourage innovation, and facilitate the transition of technology from research to the economy.
Discover more about this project through this interview featuring Tinkara Mlinar, Technology transfer officer at the Jožef Stefan Institute and part of the ExSACT research team.
What is your personal and career journey so far?
So, by education, I’m an environmental physiologist. My PhD was on the topic of the effect of microgravity on the human body. Still, for the past six months, I’ve been working at the technology transfer office at Jožef Stefan Institute because I wanted also to see the other side of science, so, how to take the basic research that we did and transfer it into industry.
What is the idea of the project?
So, the European Commission has set rules on the use of state aid in collaboration between industry and research organizations, and where states provide financial incentives, there’s often a lack of understanding of how to follow these rules. So, with our project, we hope we’re going to increase this understanding and make it easier for everyone involved in these collaborations.
Which partners are involved?
The ExSACT is a collaborative project between Jožef Stefan Institute and the Faculty of Information in Novo Mesto. We know each other because during 2017 and 2022 we were both in a larger Sloven consortium in a project that also dealt with technology transfer.
What can be the impact of ExSACT on ATTRACT?
We hope that the ExSACT project is going to increase the understanding of contractual issues in collaboration between research organizations, and industry, in view of state aid, and we also hope that one of the impacts of our project is going to make it easier for states to implement state aid rules.
How do you envision participating in this project will contribute to your personal and professional development?
As a scientist, I’ve only been involved on one side of science, whereas with this ExSACT project, we’re trying to bridge this gap between basic research or the work that’s done at research institutions and then transferring this into the market. And I have great interest in seeing how is being transferred into the market.
For more information
Visit the ExSACT project site.
