TWO RESEARCH TEAMS FROM SAS WON THE AWARD FOR TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER IN SLOVAKIA
The practice can only use innovative ideas if it knows about them. On the other hand, the role of innovators is to protect their intellectual property. A reflection of the reality of Slovak technology transfer is the Award for Technology Transfer in Slovakia, which took place for the tenth time on Tuesday, October 18, 2022. Scientists from the Institute of Materials and Machine Mechanics SAS became Innovators of the year. Researchers from the Institute of Molecular Biology SAS received the title Achievement in Technology Transfer.
Scientists, researchers and scientific research teams were awarded in three categories: INNOVATION, INNOVATOR and ACHIEVEMENT IN TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER.
General Director of CVTI SR Ján Kyselovič and Michaela Kršková presented the award in the Innovator category, where the professional jury was most impressed by the collective of creators of composite materials usable in various industries, including Ing. Martin Balog, PhD. and Ing. Krížik Peter, PhD. from the Institute of Materials and Machine Mechanics SAS and the Centre for Advanced Materials Application SAS.
Award-winning innovators convinced the jury with an exemplary approach to the transfer process in the case of their technologies. It directly concerned activities connected with their industrial-legal protection, establishing possible contacts with industry, but also promotion. Four innovations in the form of various composite materials can find their use in biomedicine, transport, energy or even space research. In addition to industrial-legal protection, all of the innovations are already in a certain phase of communication with practice, that is, with specific business entities that have shown interest in the technologies.
"Being an innovator means playing, trying, combining, while playing according to the rules and responsibly, as with any game. We are really glad that we can apply ingenuity and creativity in this privileged way at our employer - SAS. And that's why it's paradoxical for us that we receive an award for what we do with joy - that we play for the sake of our job. We will continue to try to come up with new innovative materials and transfer them directly to the application itself in the future," said Martin Balog, one of the awarded members.
The Honey Laboratory offering an accredited method for determining the antibacterial activity of honey enjoyed the "sweet feeling of victory" in the Achievement in Technology Transfer category. The jury emphasized that the project deepens the knowledge of the quality and biological properties of honey among experts and non-experts. The laboratory performs various tests and educational activities. Honey samples get labels, or quality marks, by testing, according to the level of their antibacterial activity.
The award was presented by the distinguished guest of the event, Kevin Cullen, Vice-Rector for innovation at the Saudi Arabian King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, and the prize was awarded to Mgr. Marcela Bučeková, PhD. and Ing. Juraj Majtán, DrSc. from the Laboratory of Apidology and Apitherapy at the Institute of Molecular Biology SAS.
"Receiving an award in the field of technology transfer, protection, of intellectual property or commercialization is a great satisfaction and honour for our team, and we are very happy that our applied research caught the attention of the expert committee and was awarded. Many thanks to the management of the ÚMB SAV and KTT SAV for their significant support. Last but not least, we would like to thank all Slovak bee-keepers and honey consumers who motivate us to transfer knowledge into practice. For us, the award is an incentive for further work in both basic and applied research, and we believe that we are also a good example for other scientific groups in that top-notch basic research can be carried out in parallel with applied research," commented J. Majtán.
From the seven finalists in the Innovation category, the expert jury selected an innovation intended primarily for medicine. Thanks to the nanoformulation of gold for the therapy of inflammatory and degenerative diseases of bones, joints and cartilage, patients no longer have to worry about the significant toxic effect of previous treatment on the liver or kidneys. The drug can be processed as standard tablets, capsules, powders or solutions. In addition to reducing adverse effects, the drug shows significant anti-inflammatory and the so-called chondroprotective or nutritional effects. Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, for example, can be simpler and more effective thanks to this innovation. The award-winning collective of creators comes from the Comenius University in Bratislava and the Veterinary Research Institute in Brno - Prof. Ing. Ferdinand Devínsky, DrSc., Prof. PharmDr. Josef Jampílek, PhD., doc. Ing. Martin Pisárčik, CSc., doc. PharmDr. Miloš Lukáč, PhD., doc. RNDr. Jan Hošek, PhD. The awards were presented to the winners by Michal Novota, adviser to the President of the Slovak Republic for internal policy.
The ceremony announcing the winners of the Award for Technology Transfer in Slovakia was part of the largest Slovak professional conference on the topic of technology transfer COINTT (Cooperation Innovation Technology Transfer) 2022 in Bratislava's Saffron Hotel. The event was organized by the Slovak Centre of Scientific and Technical Information (CVTI SR), and its program structure traditionally consisted of three main stages: Cooperation – Innovation – Technology Transfer.
The current year of the COINTT professional conference sought an answer to the question of how to simplify contact between academics and entrepreneurs. The event also included pointing out the actual results of the work of such joint communication in the form of the Award for Technology Transfer in Slovakia (CTTS).
Spracovali: Lenka Bednárová, CVTI SR, Andrea Nozdrovická
Foto: CVTI SR