New one-stop shop for entrepreneurship at LMU: Germany’s fastest technology transfer in higher education

LMU is reorganizing its technology transfer process and setting new standards for patent-intensive fields of research in particular. A patent protects an invention for 20 years. If the best part of two years is spent just on finalizing the contract for the transfer of intellectual property (IP), this squanders one-tenth of the entire period of protection – and thus one-tenth of the potential value creation. This is the state of affairs in Germany today, as documented by the Commission of Experts for Research and Innovation (EFI) in its latest report.

Bavarian Minister of Science Markus Blume emphasizes: “Excellent research needs excellent transfer: Only when innovations make the leap from the laboratory to the market can they unleash their full power. In Bavaria, we consistently treat top-level research, application, and value creation as inseparable. With its new transfer model, LMU is cutting bureaucracy and building competitiveness – demonstrating how scientific excellence and effective startup dynamics can work in tandem. With its ambition of establishing the fastest IP transfer in Germany’s higher education sector, LMU is setting standards and becoming a model for cutting-edge transfer culture at universities across Germany.”

Instead of five decision-making levels, there will be only one

“Eighteen months for a single contract. That slows innovation before it even gets started. Germany has set the right course with its High-Tech Strategy. But strategy without consistent implementation remains ineffective. We’re now getting this done in three months – starting from the moment the request is received,” says Vice President for Entrepreneurship Dr. Philipp Baaske.

Radical simplification of the process makes this possible. Instead of five decision-making levels, there will be only one. All responsibilities – operational, legal, and commercial – will be located in a single unit under the direct supervision of the Vice President for Entrepreneurship. This unit will have in-house legal experts and its own budget and will not have to coordinate with other units. Matters that were previously bounced around between units, the legal department, and university management will now be decided at one table, according to clear rules.

“With this step, LMU Munich is setting a new benchmark for speed and efficiency in technology transfer,” says LMU President Matthias Tschöp.

LMU’s one-stop shop brings together all processes relevant to startups and transfer at the university under one roof: from innovation assessment and funding advice to startup coaching and access to Munich’s entrepreneurial ecosystem – for researchers, students, and staff alike. LMU is thus taking on a pioneering role in accelerating the path from world-class research to commercial value creation.