{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,12]],"date-time":"2025-10-12T01:59:31Z","timestamp":1760234371280,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,6]],"date-time":"2021-05-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1620259200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Future Internet"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Engineering education pushes the creation of new technology to solve community problems. The process of technology transfer promotes educational innovation in universities, a vital process that can improve citizens\u2019 quality of life in cities and rural communities. As a result, university technology transfer offices (TTOs) have to create strategies that motivate students and researchers to generate technology. Thus, a primary challenge that TTOs face is to know and communicate the income potential compared to their much more predictable and limited expense budgets. Institutional budgeting for a TTO\u2019s growth would be simplified if the office were on a solid financial footing, i.e., breaking even or making a financial return. Many offices assume that income is unpredictable, that it is a lottery, luck, and more stakes in the fire improve the odds of hitting a winner, etc. These common assumptions or beliefs provide only a vague insight into how to move an intellectual property (IP) portfolio strategy forward. How can a TTO be assessed for quantitative value and not just be a cost center adding qualitative value? This paper illustrates the first steps to understanding how to project potential income versus a much more predictable expense budget, which would allow universities to improve their technology transfer strategy and results. As a result, TTOs would operate under a more sustainable IP portfolio strategy, promote educational innovation in universities, and generate a more significant community impact.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/fi13050122","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,6]],"date-time":"2021-05-06T02:15:13Z","timestamp":1620267313000},"page":"122","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["An Income Model Using Historical Data, Power-Law Distributions and Monte Carlo Method for University Technology Transfer Offices"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Ken","family":"Polasko","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"IGF Consulting, 12090 E. Columbine Dr., Scottsdale, AZ 85259, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Pedro","family":"Ponce","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Tecnologico de Monterrey, Writing Lab, TecLabs, Vicerrector\u00eda de Investigaci\u00f3n y Transferencia de Tecnolog\u00eda, Monterrey 64849, NL, Mexico"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5461-2879","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Arturo","family":"Molina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Tecnologico de Monterrey, Writing Lab, TecLabs, Vicerrector\u00eda de Investigaci\u00f3n y Transferencia de Tecnolog\u00eda, Monterrey 64849, NL, Mexico"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"343","DOI":"10.1007\/s10961-008-9097-8","article-title":"Why university inventions rarely produce income? 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