Center Industry Affiliates Program (CIAP)

CIAP Membership Categories

The following CIAP membership categories and key benefits are proposed:

  • Principal Members
    Have opportunities to learn about the Center’s early-stage intellectual property, subject to confidentiality restrictions, and work closely with the Center to help guide its research direction.
  • Associate Members
    Participate in annual seminars, short courses, and publications and have privileged access to the Center’s faculty, students, facilities, and outreach programs.
  • Affiliate Members
    Receive in-kind contributions – product evaluations for donor companies.

The levels of financial contribution for each category will be defined by the Center Director and the CLO and will take into account the nature of the collaborative project. To maximize the chances of effective Industry Collaboration, a Center Director and team will establish the vision and strategic plan for industrial interaction during the initial stages of the Center’s development.

Center Industry Affiliates Board (CIABs)

Each research center will have a CIAB. The CIAB will be advisory in nature and final decisions must be made by the Center Management. It is envisioned that the CIAB will carry out all or some of the following activities:

  • Perform annual strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) on the Center and critique the progress and direction of each research project.
  • Help define the strategic plan – define the road map – for the Center and recommend changes including the need for additional resources.
  • Identify additional areas for cooperation with industry and/or other institutions.
  • Review overall progress against strategic goals.
  • Supply and appoint industry speakers for workshops and seminars.
  • Review filed invention disclosures and discuss potential improved patent action with the KAUST Technology Transfer Office.

It is proposed that each CIAB consists of all Principal Members and elected Associate Members. The following is a useful guideline for maximizing the benefit of having an CIAB to the research efforts of the Center:

  • Weekly meetings - CIAB Chair, co-Chair, Secretary, CLO, and Center Director.
  • Monthly teleconference meetings – small CIAB Executive Committee.
  • Quarterly teleconference meetings – full CIAB.
  • Face-to-face full CIAB meetings held every six months in conjunction with site visit and annual seminar and review.

Center Liaison Officer (CLO)

The Center Industry Affiliates Program (CIAP) will have, for each participating KAUST Research Center, a Center Liaison Officer (CLO) serving as a liaison between the Center, industry partners, and KICP.

This pivotal role will assist in the efficient coordination of the Center’s research and facilitate the transfer of technology. Each Center Director will, in conjunction with the KICP office, agree on the specific role of the CLO in line with the specific needs of the Center.

Job Description

The CLO will have had extensive industrial experience and the maturity to interface between the relevant industries, students, faculty, and University administrators. The actual job description of each CLO will vary between Research Centers but may consist of some or all of the following:

  • Customer service
  • Marketing
  • Center promotion
  • Preparation of informational materials, annual reports, and data
  • Liaison with Technology Transfer Office.
  • Intellectual property management
  • Proposal writing
  • Conference planning
  • Student/industry relationships/interface
  • Overall Center’s representation to the broader community.
Responsibilites
  • The CLO is primarily responsible for managing the community of industry partners and collaborators assisted by the Center Director, staff, faculty, and students.
  • The CLO will ensure effective communication through the creation and dissemination of literature,newsletters, annual reports, articles, brochures, etc.,
  • The organizing of conferences, technical meetings, and workshops.

Other mechanisms used to broaden interaction will include:

  • Student internships and mentoring
  • Faculty sabbaticals
  • Researcher exchange Center/collaborator
  • CIABs
  • Review meetings
  • Collaborative research projects
  • Specific-sponsored research agreements (SRA)
  • Intellectual property licensing
  • Short courses
  • Tours