Many universities have begun to recognize the importance of learning “corporate speak,” but few have gone as far as The University of Arizona; they have created a full-time position to help them strengthen relationships with the business community. “I’ve been helping faculty researchers and administrators better understand the nuances of working with industry and the importance of being competitive, by making sure our business practices, policies, and collaborations with industry are equal in quality to our exceptional research & educational capabilities,” explains Nancy K. Smith, director of corporate & business relations, whose career in sales, marketing, and planning spans 35 years. She’s also leading a reorganization process for tech transfer/commercialization and industry collaborations.

Smith says the need to for universities to enhance corporate relations is steadily growing. “What’s been happening is that companies are relying more on universities than ever before to do the ‘R’ component of their R&D, so they’re more important to us than they’ve ever been,” she explains. “What they want from us is to talk about more strategic relationships, and expanded types of engagement that may include multiple companies and universities; they want connections at the highest strategic levels.” So, she explains, a corporation may not seek a research project with a finite beginning and end, but rather a relationship in which the two entities “do business together.”

“They want our help solving complex problems — not just solving a piece of work here and there — and we want to engage at those levels, too,” says Smith. “But with that type of relationship comes their expectations that we are working at the ‘speed of business’ and work the way they do.” In other words, “speaking the language of business” should involve much more than learning a few buzz words if a university is to be successful with their future marketing and relationship building efforts. “It involves understanding the motives of the other party — and they ours,” says Smith. “It’s responsiveness. Speed of business means returning a phone call the same day and responding to e-mails within 24 hours; that’s how business works.”

A detailed article on Smith’s activities at UA appears in the March 2010 issue of Intellectual Property Marketing Advisor. For subscription information, CLICK HERE.

Posted March 2nd, 2010 under Intellectual Property Marketing

Write a comment