University Director of Technology Ventures

The City University of New York’s (CUNY) Office of Research (OR) at the Central Office is responsible for the leadership of University initiatives that build research capacity. Research, scholarly, and creative pursuits are supported through three OR divisions : Research Development and Programs; Innovation and Entrepreneurship; and Research Integrity and Compliance. Jointly, these divisions encourage collaborative and transdisciplinary research innovations; foster startups and commercialization both within and beyond the CUNY community; and ensure adherence to the standards that govern research ethics and sponsored program administration.

Reporting to the University Executive Director for Research and Innovation, the University Director of Technology Ventures will serve as a primary liaison between OR’s innovation teams, CUNY faculty researchers, and industrial partners on a diverse array of commercialization and sponsored research opportunities. The University Director will help foster, strengthen, and sustain the CUNY innovation ecosystem by enabling intellectual property (IP) generation and technology commercialization activity across the University’s 26 colleges and schools. The University Director of Technology Ventures will engage closely with OR’s Technology Commercialization Office (TCO) and Industrial and Applied Research (IAR) group to help grow CUNY's capacity for IP development and protection, faculty entrepreneurship, and technology transfer to industry.

In addition to the position overview, other key duties will include, but not be limited to the following :

• Lead and foster relationship development with CUNY faculty researchers across the innovation ecosystem and industry and investors aligned with CUNY research strengths.
• Design and implement systematic approaches to identify and map CUNY-wide research strengths with technology transfer potential and external prospects with likely interest in CUNY technologies.
• Develop programs, trainings, pipelines, and workflows that upskill CUNY researchers to evaluate the IP opportunities and technology applications of their discoveries.
• Guide CUNY faculty prospects to TCO and IAR collaborators for IP generation and entrepreneurship training.
• Initiate and propel dialogue between CUNY researchers and industrial sponsors for technology commercialization opportunities.
• Create and maintain project management solutions to monitor and expedite complex cases involving CUNY researchers, industry, and other venture partners.
• Design, launch, and sustain consultation services for CUNY researchers about IP generation and licensing processes.
• Partner with OR’s TCO and IAR colleagues to support faculty and student entrepreneurship training initiatives and CUNY small business incubators, accelerators, and other innovation nodes.
• Collaborate with CUNY communications, marketing, and public / government relations professionals to showcase CUNY innovation and public impact research for key audiences.
• Align with OR research compliance, research development, and other domains to foster robust innovation ecosystem outcomes.
• Engage CUNY leaders and decision-makers to champion the CUNY innovation ecosystem and its value.
• Other duties as assigned.