I wanted to spend a few minutes reflecting on the most recent AUTM annual meeting that I had the pleasure of attending along with three of my colleagues from Ottawa. First of all this meeting was big. Big venue, big ideas big crowds. The plenaries were entertaining and I am certain that if Caspar Berry had not cautioned about taking his message directly to the tables there might have been a few empty wallets as a result. The exhibitions were excellent and a particular mention should be made to my colleagues from Montreal who took full advantage of the opportunity to market their technologies to the increasingly present industry participants. Of course a shout out has to go to Barb Eccles for hosting a wonderful Canadian luncheon.
The only downside I would note was that there did not seem to be that many (2 that I counted) Canadians who were speaking or moderating or pontificating. I think this is a shame. Canadians and the Canadian tech transfer experience has something to offer the growing numbers of the profession from outside of the US. Our experience has direct application in many European regions where tech transfer is either being established or is evolving. South America, home to the B in BRIC, can learn much from the experiences of Canadian professionals who have for years plied their trade in the absence of commercialization mandatory legislation. Today I put out a challenge to my Canadian friends and colleagues to actively submit topics for the 2012 meeting in California because it goes without saying that the world can use a little more Canada and when it comes to tech transfer, the world comes to AUTM.