For many years, we spoke about academia–industry collaboration almost exclusively as a process of technology transfer. The logic was simple: academia researches, discovers and develops; industry applies, commercialises and scales. A linear flow of knowledge, from scientific production to the market.

This view had its merits. It shaped public policy, justified the creation of technology transfer offices and helped professionalise intellectual property management. But today, it is no longer sufficient.

In a context defined by digital transition, climate challenges, global value chains and increasingly interdisciplinary innovation, the reality is different: innovation does not originate at a fixed point only to be “delivered” elsewhere. It emerges from continuous interaction, mutual learning and successive adjustments between those who generate knowledge and those who use it. Thinking about academia–industry collaboration as co-creation does not mean denying the importance of intellectual property, licensing or technology valorisation. It means placing them in the right context.

The linear model is based on an implicit assumption: that relevant knowledge is produced primarily within academia and subsequently transferred to industry. In practice, however, companies also generate critical knowledge — about markets, processes, real needs, technical and regulatory constraints. When a company engages with academia, it is not merely seeking ready-made technology. It is looking for solutions to concrete problems. And often those problems help to redefine the scientific agenda itself.

Innovation happens in this intermediary space. The greatest challenge, however, is cultural. Academia must recognise that collaboration does not compromise scientific excellence, and industry must accept that innovation requires time, experimentation and tolerance for risk. This paradigm shift has profound implications for those operating between university and industry. Technology transfer offices, interface centres and innovation structures cease to be merely managers of contracts or patents; they become managers of relationships.

Their value lies in their ability to identify strategic partners, align expectations from the outset, create environments of trust, and facilitate communication between distinct organisational cultures, among many other roles. At CCG/ZGDV, we believe in this model. As a Centre for Technology and Innovation, we work daily at the intersection of science and industry, structuring collaborative projects, reducing technological risk and accelerating the creation of digital solutions with real impact.

Opinion article by Telmo Santos, Technology Transfer Officer.