McGill Univ has created the new position of associate VP innovation and partnerships (AVP-IP) as the latest in a growing suite of initiatives designed to engage a broader range of local, national and international innovation partners. The AVP-IP should be in place this spring and will report to , Dr Rosie Goldstein, McGill's VP vice-principal research and international relations.

In recent years, McGill has entered into a number of broader innovation partnerships including the Quartier de l'Innovation with École de technologie supérieure (R$, September 20/12). It has also moved to establish new entities targeting specific elements of the innovation ecosystem such the Invention Development and Entrepreneurship Assistance (IDEA) office — replacing its old tech transfer office — and the as Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship (innovation-focused curriculum development) and affiliated X-1 Accelerator program.

Innovation ambassador

The AVP-IP will oversee these operations, acting as both an ambassador and leader of partnerships, helping to leverage McGill-based discoveries for economic, social and cultural gain.

"We're in a process of transformation seeking a bigger role in the global innovation ecosystem," says Goldstein. "We're not getting bigger but reorganizing and changing attitudes through an amalgamation of offices so that we can be more efficient and effective with our staff."

"The new Associate Vice-Principal (Innovation and Partnerships) will build on McGill's strengths in research, knowledge exchange and commercialization to further develop an ambitious, focused and dynamic strategy to realize McGill's goal of becoming a first-choice collaborator for industry, investors, social enterprises, community organizations, and peer institutions." - McGill job posting

Goldstein says the AVP-IP pulls together the university's entrepreneurship, technology transfer and partnerships activities under a single office to maximize synergies and McGill's research excellence. That includes an ongoing re-evaluation of the university's intellectual property policies. It's also hoped that McGill can enhance its partnership potential with smaller businesses which often lack the capacity or resources to embrace innovation.

"I've been leading this since I arrived at McGill in 2010 and it now needs a leader that can focus on this full time," she says. "I hope we're also being entrepreneurial in establishing this position, doing it boldly and taking risk. This is the message we're trying to send.

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