Knowledge Transfer Office ready to accept applications

The Research and Innovation Foundation’s (IDEK) Central Knowledge Transfer Office (CKTO) this week announced that it has started officially accepting applications from interested parties.

“We encourage everyone who has made or may believe they have an invention or other intellectual assets to take advantage of our free CKTO Services,” RIF director general Theodoros Loukaidis said.

The announcement noted that Central Knowledge Transfer Office (CKTO), operating within the Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF), is now accepting applications for the provision of expert Knowledge Transfer and Commercialisation services.

“The services are provided free of charge by experts of the META Group, who have extensive international experience and an established track record,” the foundation explained in its announcement.

“Services include IP Ownership Assessment, Patent landscaping, IP Protection Strategy and Commercial Opportunity Assessment, as well as Technology Marketing and Negotiations Support for commercialization agreements,” the announcement added.

Access to CKTO services is open to all ecosystem stakeholders through three different paths:

• A Fast-Track process for beneficiaries of the Pre-Seed, Seed, and Innovate programmes of December 2021 and the Co-Develop programmes of March 2022.
• Direct Entry for beneficiaries of projects funded under specific RIF Calls in which the requirement was set to contact the CKTO.
• An Open Call process for all other organizations and natural persons to apply for Services

Moreover, as part of the offering, the RIF will be also operating an IP Voucher Programme to cover specific costs related to the acquisition, validation and protection of patents or other intellectual asset protection.

“In a constantly changing world, innovation is a proven key to business success. Living up to its mission the RIF is now providing a full range of Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Services,” Loukaidis said.

“We encourage everyone who has made or may believe they have an invention or other intellectual assets to take advantage of our free CKTO Services,” he added.

“I also encourage everyone interested in enhancing their capacity to innovate, to participate in the training sessions offered by the CKTO and the Innovation Factory,” Loukaidis concluded.

The CKTO operation is funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and its services are complementary to the research and innovation funding programmes provided by the RIF aiming to enhance the impact of the investment made in this space.

Applications are submitted through the IRIS platform.

For more information, you can visit RIF’s website: www.research.org.cy