Knowledge Transfer Ireland — National Tracking and Coordination of University-Industry IP Transfer

Before Knowledge Transfer Ireland, IP licensing, invention disclosures and spinout formation across Irish higher-education institutions and public research bodies were reported inconsistently on an institution-by-institution basis.

KTI, a national office jointly backed by Enterprise Ireland and the Irish Universities Association, standardises how Irish research-performing organisations report and manage technology transfer, publishing an Annual Knowledge Transfer Survey (AKTS) since the early 2010s so that activity can be tracked consistently across the whole publicly funded research system.

Every research-performing organisation submits data annually covering licences, options and assignments (LOAs) executed with industry, invention disclosures and new spinout company formation.

The 2023 survey recorded 26 new spinout companies formed from nine research-performing organisations, bringing the cumulative active total to 163 spinouts employing 1,845 people by year-end, alongside 206 LOAs executed with industry — a 16% rise on the prior year — with software (40%) and patented IP (28%) the largest categories of transferred assets; University College Dublin recorded the most invention and software disclosures (81). The 2024 survey showed continued growth: 25 new spinouts brought the active total to 166 companies collectively employing 2,098 people, and 221 LOAs were executed, a further 7% year-on-year rise. Technological University Dublin separately reported passing 600 cumulative invention disclosures in 2024.

The consistent year-on-year rise in LOAs, spinouts and employment, corroborated by individual university reporting from UCD and TU Dublin, indicates growth that is broad-based across multiple institutions rather than concentrated in a single flagship university.