Interest in commercializing science, or transferring science to business, is growing, and the biggest challenge is commercializing discoveries. In the latest issue of the Latvian Academy of Sciences newspaper, "Zinātnes Vēstnesis", an interview with Olga Bogdanova, the head of the sales department of the ISSP UL’s Materize platform, and researcher Ainārs Knoks, who is also the manager of customer solutions of the Materize platform is published. In the conversation, they both explain what services the ISSP UL offers and how the Materize platform commercializes products.
In the interview, Ainars and Olga talk about the wide range of competencies offered by the ISSP UL - the ability to develop and study materials in specific fields, their applications in photonics, electronics, energy harvesting and storage, biomedicine and other industries, to create different coatings, thus changing the properties of materials, as well as to develop and study nanomaterials. From simple measurements to developing an idea into a new technology, the knowledge and skills can help companies in a wide range of industries. In this way, knowledge can be made more accessible and technologies and products can be developed more quickly by domestic and foreign companies to bring value to business - in monetary terms - and to society - by solving existing problems.
The conversation highlights the 40 years of rich scientific experience of the ISSP UL and the Institute’s technical equipment and facilities. Through cooperation, customers can develop their products, technology, and production processes. Consequently, there is an exchange of knowledge and experience.
In 2018, the foundation of the Materize platform was made possible by the Horizon 2020 project CAMART², one of the largest projects in Latvian science. One of the project’s goals is to make the ISSP UL the most important center of excellence for education, science, innovation, and technology transfer in the Baltic States. As a result, Materize builds a bridge between science and business.
