The original version of this article contained information that was unclear and has been changed. See the bottom of the article for additional information.
The University of California Board of Regents recently approved the creation of a new organization, currently referred to as Newco, that will oversee the marketing of intellectual property and patents from UCLA faculty.
The committee overseeing the independent board governing this organization includes both faculty and administrative staff who are tasked to hold the board to university standards and to make sure it remains in touch with university culture.
This oversight committee, however, misses one vital part of our campus: its students.
Given that UCLA is an extensively funded research university with abundant student interest in research, students need to know what is being done with scientific ideas produced by the institution.
The UCLA Oversight Committee, which will audit Newco’s independent board of businessmen, should provide seats for student representatives from the undergraduate and graduate student bodies to ensure the board is held accountable to all parts of campus.
Student representation on the committee would help ensure transparency and would also connect Newco with UCLA’s educational culture.
One of Newco’s main goals is to identify and capitalize on big ideas that have the potential to generate millions of dollars in revenue for UCLA. James Economou, vice chancellor for research at UCLA, said although the university receives around 400 to 500 proposals for patents from faculty each year, only about one in 1,000 has the potential to generate a multi-million-dollar royalty.
Patent revenues don’t solely go to the faculty who made the discoveries or the research units involved. A third of the profits return to the university as a “campus share,” which the chancellor can use for the students’ benefit.
In addition to allowing for a more representative board, students on the committee would also receive marketing experience from their interactions with board members and their work with Newco.
Although UCLA has the enormous potential to provide students opportunities for scientific research, students in the sciences often lack the know-how to monetize and develop research into workable results for the social good.
UCLA has the resources to carry out technical research that small private institutions simply do not have, but we don’t necessarily have the capacity to tailor our curriculum to every student’s need in management and marketing education. Having student positions on the board may change this culture.
Allowing students to interact directly with a board experienced in entrepreneurship would give them the hands-on experience in marketing and management of research that they may lack in their classroom experience at UCLA.
But just as students would gain a set of workable skills, the board would gain the perspective of student researchers. These students would offer another view of the innovations on campus and provide insights as to which ideas can be profitable.
Students are the next generation of researchers and entrepreneurs.
Representation on the oversight committee would give student members the experience to succeed in the fields of marketing and research while also holding the board accountable to the student population.
Email Zhao at jzhao@media.ucla.edu.
Send general comments to opinion@media.ucla.edu or tweet us @DBOpinion.
Clarification: Newco is a temporary name for the corporation approved by the UC Board of Regents.