The One Planet Thessaly Innovation – Technology Transfer Unit and Entrepreneurship Center consists of two parts:

• The Innovation and Technology Transfer Unit
• Entrepreneurship Center - Incubator

The objective of the One Planet Thessaly Unit is the enhancement of the research capacity of UTH, its interface with the industry, the knowledge transfer towards society, and the cultivation of the entrepreneurial spirit within the academic community. The One Planet Thessaly Unit, through the Research Committee of UTH, may provide payable services consistent with its mission to the private sector, as well as implementing agreements with the public sector, as defined in legislation, according its objectives.

The One Planet Thessaly Unit may attract all kind of funds, coming from private or international sources, as well as from co-funding programs. The financial management of resources is exclusively implemented through the Research Committee of UTH.

The general competences of the Unit are mainly the following:

• The administrative and secretarial support of the Innovation – Technology Transfer Unit and Entrepreneurship Center.
• The training of students and members of the academic community on Technology transfer issues, entrepreneurship issues, and development of research results aiming at their commercial exploitation.
• The support of the university community members at developing research proposals in order to pursue competitive funded R&D projects.
• Bidding and pursuing for financing by private and public sources for the implementation of research projects.
• Providing specialized consulting services towards the staff and students of UTH, as well as to enterprises and other organizations of the private and public sector in areas relevant to the competences of the Unit.
• The support of interested PhD candidates for locating industries and companies for the elaboration of industrial PhDs.
• The development of mechanisms and actions for the cultivation of business ideas and the development of incubators and accelerators of business ideas.
• Enhancing extroversion and the dissemination of scientific knowledge, expertise, technology, innovation and best practices produced within the university, to society through the establishment of links with enterprises in Greece.
• The support of the founding, operation and development of a Technology Park.
• The recruitment and support of industrial research programs by University Laboratories and Research Institutes for the elaboration of research projects aiming at the exploitation of results by the industry that provided funding.
• The data collection and record-keeping for Unit processes and transactions concerning the submission of annual reports of UTH performance, programme agreements, and other reports required by the legislation, by the strategic plan and the annual action plan, as well as the target-setting plan of UTH.

• The collaboration with other Universities and research centers, as anticipated by applicable legislation, or other research organizations, international and European entities, financial and commercial chambers, local authorities and other organizations and enterprises of the public and private sector for the cultivation and promotion of technology transfer actions, the promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship, startups, as well as the development of consortia or cooperative schemes for the implementation of common actions that serve the Unit mission.
• Supporting the implementation of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with private and public sector entities and organizations for the achievement of the goals of the Unit.
• The creation of an incubator by members of the academic community of UTH.
• Providing support for the design, development and operation of Spin Offs by members of the UTH.

2. The competences of the Technology Transfer and Innovation Office are mainly the following:

• Raising awareness and providing training to the academic/research stuff in matters like intellectual property rights, ways to commercialize new technologies, business development processes and acceleration, analysis and market research, financial planning and funding.
• The support on the creation and development of Spin Offs founded by members of the academic or research staff of the University and by collaborating research entities for the exploitation of research outcomes, according to applicable legislation.
• The support of research teams in matters of protection of the intellectual’s property of innovative products, services and practices, as well as ideas produced within the Institution and their registration in National, European and International terms.
• The management of the IPR portfolio of the University, as well as patents, expertise, industrial designs, software and commercial secrets, aiming at their utilization by the University or by its community or by third parties after granting or transfer of the rights.
• The evaluation of the commercial interest for the exploitation of knowledge, technologies and research outcomes produced within the Institute and the submission of applications for funding via same sources of commercial utilization like those at the Industry.

3. The competences of the Entrepreneurship Center-Incubator are mainly the following:

• The support of the process of business group setup and the development of startups that exploit emerging business opportunities and are founded mainly by University students, young researchers or by graduates of the University of Thessaly and of the greater innovation community, as well as the support of the process of their accession to the National Startup Registry, according to the current legislation.
• The support of the business incubation through the systematic mentoring/coaching in matters relevant to the planning of business structures, marketing strategies and market entrance issues, financial planning, funding, business development, viability, extension etc.
• The mobilization of young people and the development of entrepreneurial competences through contests, hackathons, specialized seminars, summer schools on entrepreneurship etc.
• The support of communication and collaboration activities among people with entrepreneurial spirit and people with high-level skills and knowledge on research and technological fields.
• The support of professors and teaching staff, research stuff, office executives of technology transfer units or incubators unit staff in relation to the development of best practices in promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship (Train the Trainers).
• The interlinking of supported business schemes to established businesses through open innovation actions.

The networking with the business/innovation ecosystem for complementarity, sustainability and multiplying impact of outcomes. The networking at an international level aiming at the spread of supported international business schemes (virtual co-incubation), as well as the attraction of business community members from abroad and the creation of business forms of international orientation.