Upon recognizing an opportunity to propel university-developed innovation, a collaboration was born to connect the right people and ensure research information was discoverable. A custom platform was built leveraging the interlinked publication and patent data and research insights from Dimensions in combination with the faculty and equipment data from Symplectic Elements, a leading Research Information Management system.
After several months in the making, our teams are delighted to announce a new online research portal that will more efficiently deliver research and innovation opportunities to both industry and Ohio’s academic institutions, facilitating partnerships, expanding workforce and funding opportunities, and fostering economic development throughout the region.
The Ohio Innovation Exchange (OIEx), launched today by the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE), connects industry with faculty, students, equipment, and facilities available at Ohio’s research universities. OIEx consolidates these academic resources from multiple universities into a single, searchable, and easily accessible web portal at www.ohioinnovationexchange.org. OIEx provides extensive search functionality and an intuitive interface that allows visitors to:
- Find relevant experts and suitable potential collaborators
- Explore each institution’s publications, patents, and equipment
- Connect with the OIEx network of industry liaisons to find more information and create relationships with researchers and institutions
OIEx was originally developed by four Ohio universities with industry support from the Ohio Manufacturing Institute. OIEx is now a publicly available platform that, in its current phase, provides industry in search of expertise with free access to more than 8,250 faculty members and 900 resources from the following universities:
- Case Western Reserve University
- Cleveland State Universit
- The Ohio State University
- Ohio University
- The University of Akron
- The University of Cincinnati
From research partnerships, intellectual property, and technology licensing opportunities to business development and even student internships, OIEx brings those connections to bear, and the scope of OIEx will expand further as other institutions join.
“It is critical to our state’s economy that we utilize every aspect of our knowledge and innovation talent across the public and private sectors” said ODHE Chancellor John Carey. “We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve created with OIEx − better connecting the experts and resources at our state research universities to the industries that can utilize them to push their breakthrough ideas to fruition.”
Daniel Hook, CEO of Digital Science, adds, “Discovery is at the heart of translating research from the university to impact our society, economy, technology and health. Connecting experts and practitioners is critical to extend the reach of research. The State of Ohio has shown true vision and leadership in backing this collaborative project to make research in Ohio more discoverable and more open. We are delighted to have been able to support and to help realize this vision.”
“We have experienced much success working with universities to advance our research and product initiatives,” said Margaret Barkett, associate director, the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “But it’s not always obvious who we should partner with, so making those connections in a timely manner can be difficult. We’re excited to use OIEx to jump-start these partnerships, and our own innovations.”
For more information on licensing options please get in touch with the dimensions team at info@dimensions.ai.