On the occasion of World Intellectual Property Day, we asked participants at the Technology Transfer Office UG's Intellectual Property & Innovation Week about advice for researchers who want to enter the business world. Here are their answers.

Deputy President of the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland, dr Piotr Zakrzewski 

- I would advise scientists to take a broader perspective, i.e. not to look only at issues related to the publication of their solution, but also to take care of its protection. Such a move will increase the value of a future company or start-up and bring concrete profits. The order of these activities should be that we patent first and then publish. This concept should guide scientists as they immediately look at a solution from a business point of view and not just in terms of realising research results.

International Project Leader Joanna Broy - EIT Health Ecosystem Lead for Poland, Lifescience Innovation & Education Manager

International Project Leader Joanna Broy - EIT Health Ecosystem Lead for Poland, Lifescience Innovation & Education Manager

- First of all, don't go it alone, i.e. don't be afraid to look for people who have experience in commercialising innovative solutions. You can contact, for example, a Technology Transfer Office or an incubator for start-ups. Such units have the staff and resources to support researchers in this process. There is no point in wasting time to get to certain things on your own, just use the support of professionals. Secondly, I don't recommend locking yourself into regional competitions and initiatives but looking for sources of funding for innovative solutions in the European arena, such as Horizon Europe or EIT Health. Taking advantage of these programmes helps a lot, if only in scaling a company to a foreign market. I would also advise the researcher not to take everything on his or her own shoulders, but to identify who is missing from the team and look for the right people for this role.

Magdalena Wójtowicz, Wiceprezeska Zarządu Gdańska Fundacja Przedsiębiorczości - Inkubator Starter

- First, I would seek knowledge on how to implement an idea in the market. To commercialise means to offer a product that someone will be willing to spend money on. You need to answer the following questions: are you solving a problem, what problem are you solving and will someone be willing to pay you to solve it? To do this, you need to build your business model, prepare a market-entry strategy and verify your target audience. It is worth reaching for such business tools when developing start-ups. There are quite a few institutions in Gdańsk and beyond that support such activities. One of them is the Starter Incubator, which I manage and which regularly offers programmes for young businesses.

Klaudia Maciejewska, Product Managerka, Currenda Lab

- You shouldn't be afraid and you need to have the courage to step out of your comfort zone. The first step is to try to reach out to a business person and present your research results/ idea to them and establish a collaboration. Business is a very open area. Above all, communication and diversity are important here. It is also important to establish your goal and how to achieve it. It is important to ask ourselves what we are aiming for. Do we want to patent our work, enter into a collaboration with a particular company, or perhaps take advantage of an implementation PhD opportunity? We need to identify and define our goal and then aim to succeed!