Intellectual Property and Commercialization
Annual Commercialization Plan Statement
As part of the requirements from Intellectual Property Ontario (IPON), Sheridan has posted the following statement on the Annual Commercialization Plan.
Like most Ontario colleges, Sheridan is neither equipped to assess the commercial potential of arising IP nor to manage a portfolio of IP rights. We leave these tasks to other actors in the Ontario innovation ecosystem, focusing on our role in supporting such actors and facilitating commercialization by them. Among other benefits, our applied research activities assist companies in solving challenges to realize their commercialization aims, and our entrepreneurship hub, EDGE, supports founders in bringing their ideas to market and sustaining successful, impact-focused businesses.
Our Year One Annual Commercialization Plan (ACP) reflects the unique research funding context for Ontario colleges. The operating funding provided to colleges by the province is designed to support the core education and training mandate of colleges and does not reflect the overhead costs of exploring, developing and overseeing research projects. Within this context, our ACP over the next year reflects ongoing work and what we can reasonably continue to sustain in the absence of further resources.
Areas of focus for our first ACP include:
- Enhancing engagement with industry partners
- Raising awareness and promoting access to relevant supports and resources
- Further enhancing our research, innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem
Statement on the Ontario Commercialization Mandate Framework
View the Commercialization Policy
The Province of Ontario issued its Commercialization Mandate Policy Framework in early 2022. The objective of Ontario’s Commercialization Mandate Policy Framework is to harness the intellectual property generated with the institution’s resources to achieve Ontario’s goal of ensuring that made-in-Ontario innovations benefit Ontarians.
Sheridan is committed to supporting Ontario’s Commercialization Mandate Policy Framework within the context of the role Ontario colleges play in applied research and innovation.
Sheridan is uniquely positioned to collaborate with industry partners to advance innovation and facilitate commercialization of intellectual property in Ontario that creates economic and social benefits for our communities. In particular, applied research activities taking place at Ontario’s publicly funded colleges in partnership with small and medium-sized enterprises create innovative solutions to challenges being experienced in our communities in a variety of settings. These innovations will be a key driver for sustainable economic recovery, growth, and competitiveness in Ontario and will be critically important as we collectively emerge from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In order to increase innovation at the community and regional level, Sheridan will continue to rely on funding from granting agencies, primarily federal agencies, as the operating funding provided to colleges does not reflect the overhead costs of exploring, developing and overseeing applied research projects.
Ontario’s Commercialization Mandate Framework provides an opportunity to advance the role of the publicly funded college sector in research and innovation. Sheridan looks forward to continuing to support our partners in the commercialization of intellectual property to realize the full benefits for all Ontarians.
Intellectual property at Sheridan
Intellectual property (IP) at Sheridan supports and encourages innovation and creativity. IP is defined as legal protection for a wide range of creations, from artwork to inventions, to computer applications and more.