George (Ivo)

In my role as business developer at UM’s Knowledge Transfer Office (KTO) I try to support researchers in a wide range of activities, like the establishment of a collaboration with external parties, or negotiating a(n) (licensing) agreement or perhaps setting up a startup company.

In general, the focus is on increasing the societal impact of UM knowledge. Because of the organization of the 1st UM broad Societal Engagement Event, I became aware of the initiative that is now MPCER. I am proud to be an active part of the MPCER project team.

Ivo George has been active with creating societal impact of research since he joint Maastricht University in 2014. As valorisation manager specifically focussing on the impact on society, he supports researchers from all fields to have society benefit from the knowledge of our researchers. Ivo works in the central Knowledge Transfer Office of Maastricht University. In general, the focus of this department is on increasing the societal impact of scientific knowledge.

Last years he developed and organized the Impact Course which learned researchers to not only focus on scientific output, but also about the possibilities to utilize the knowledge by science communication, setting up collaborations with external partners or even creating a startup company on the bases of research results. Active engagement with external stakeholders and the community as a whole is essential in the process of knowledge utilization.