Intellectual Property and Commercialisation

Do you have an invention, a business process or a smart app concept you want to take to the next level?

Developing new concepts, protecting your ideas and finding out how they might be taken to market can be a minefield. Research and development programs, patent protection and commercialisation strategies can be costly and overwhelm the resources of small and medium enterprises. A clever strategy that leverages academic expertise, such as working with student-engaged research and public funding, can be the answer.

Unitec strives to be the most thoroughly networked and industry-engaged tertiary education organisation in New Zealand. Please contact us with your ideas and challenges. We are happy to have a discussion and guide you at no cost for the initial meeting. If it turns out that we can be of help, we are keen to explore partnerships, joint research grant applications or service contracts, depending on what your needs are.

Besides research and development, we know that intellectual property protection, market validation and commercialisation plans are crucial for many great opportunities – that’s why we have industry, academic and research experts involved in our projects.
There may be mutual interest in partnering to find funding to prove that an idea works or that a business and marketing plan is viable – or maybe you may want to contract us to help with your go to market strategy.

If one or more of these apply to you, it is free to talk to one of our commercialisation managers, please get in touch with Gregor Steinhorn to find out more.

Business and Community

We are committed to making research and development accessible for everyone, including small and medium enterprises, community organizations, iwi and hapū.

Whether you are a small or medium enterprise, a large business, an iwi organisation, a community group or a government agency, we have a straightforward process to engage with you for research and development services.

Industry student research case study

Reuse of timber off-cuts in the construction industry

The aim of this project is to asses the reuse potential for timber off-cuts in the construction industry. This is a priority area for Auckland Council's Waste Minimisation Advisory Group and we won industry funding from construction waste reuse start-up company CivilShare.

Student: To Be Recruited

Supervisor: Dr Terri-Ann Berry