Overview

Learn more about knowledge exchange and how to use, protect and monetize your knowledge while working with various partners.

Interested in increasing the impact of your knowledge on society? This course is for those who are new to how knowledge is transferred from yourself or from a knowledge institute into society at large. It is for those who want to know how to protect their knowledge, how to approach parties for collaboration, and how to find the right funding for your idea. It is for those who want to start thinking about how knowledge exchange might be useful in their business or academic career. It provides an introduction to one of the basics of knowledge exchange, the stakeholders involved and the most common pitfalls on your way to transform our world with your ideas!

About the course lecturers
Each week a different expert in his or her field will shed light on a different aspect within knowledge exchange. In addition, each module contains an interview with a Leiden academic who will share his or her practical experience concerning that week's subject. Each module is introduced and concluded by the course leader, Professor Gert-Jan van Ommen, former head of the Department of Human Genetics of Leiden University Medical Center.

About Luris
This course was developed by Luris, in cooperation with Leiden University and Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC). As knowledge exchange office, Luris matches societal needs with possibilities available in Leiden and enhances the impact of novel technologies and knowledge from Leiden University and LUMC. Luris establishes valuable partnerships and represents the interests of academics and research teams.

Syllabus

INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE

Welcome to our course: How to Impact Society with your Knowledge? Using, Protecting and Monetizing Ideas together with Third Parties! We are excited to have you in our class and look forward to your contributions to the learning community. Some of the key principles you will learn these coming weeks: An introduction to knowledge exchange and its key stakeholders, protecting knowledge, the different types of funding, and what you need to know about working with third parties. To begin, we recommend taking a few minutes to explore the course site. Review the material we will cover each week, and preview the assignments you will need to complete to pass the course. Click Discussion Forums to see where you can discuss the course material with fellow students taking the class. If you have questions about course content, please post them in the forums to get help from others in the course community. For technical problems with the Coursera platform, visit the Learner Help Center. Good luck as you get started, and we hope you will value the things learned in this course!

What is knowledge exchange?

Welcome to this next module. You will now become familiar with the concept of knowledge exchange and its definition in this online course. We will also explain the role and importance of stakeholders. Finally, Professor Hanna Swaab of Leiden University will share her experiences with you concerning knowledge exchange in her field of practice. Make sure to study the required reading materials, since these are part of the quiz.

Protecting knowledge and research results

Welcome to this module. Why should you protect your knowledge? This week, you will learn what intellectual property rights (IP-rights) are and how they can be used. In the interview, dr. Jan Wouter Drijfhout of the Leiden University Medical Center will tell you more about his experience with IP-rights. Make sure to study the required reading materials, since these are part of the quiz.

Research collaboration with non-academic partners

Welcome to this week's module. During this module you will learn everything you need to know about research consortia and funding. We will also elaborate on public-private partnerships and what are both the advantages and disadvantages. To close off, there is an interesting interview with dr. Ahmad Al-Jallad from Leiden University who will share his experiences in the field concerning research collaboration. Make sure to study the required reading materials, since these are part of the quiz.

Research exploitation with third parties

Welcome to the final module. This module is about working with third parties. You will learn about the advantages, but also about potential pitfalls. I myself will also share my experience on this subject. Finally, at the end of this module you will find the peer-review graded assignment. You must finish the assignment in order to complete this course.