Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli (D-Syracuse), chair of the Assembly’s Task Force on University-Industry Cooperation, said today that economic success and job creation is readily at hand if New York’s industries and universities forge stronger bonds.

“Here in New York, we have some of the most innovative companies in the world, and we also have some of the world’s leading research universities. By bringing those two communities together, great things can result,” Magnarelli said.

Magnarelli pointed toward two bills he sponsored in the Assembly that he said would foster the kind of cooperation that could lead to commercialization, product spin-offs, and, ultimately, thousands of new jobs. One of the bills would mandate uniform reporting standards so that the state could better track its investments in research and development and product commercialization (A.6463).

“New York has invested a lot of money and a lot of effort into various programs meant to bring products developed here to market. But there hasn’t been the kind of oversight we need for investments of this size,” Magnarelli said. “By clearly telling everyone exactly what they need to be reporting, we can cut down on the amount of bureaucratic hoops many of them have to jump through, and we can make sure the state is getting the kind of returns it deserves.” This bill has passed both the Assembly and Senate.

The other bill would create an annual university patent fair, which would allow companies to see cutting-edge technologies first hand and allow universities to raise money through licensing (A.1957). This bill has passed the Assembly.

“There is just so much information out there on new and emerging technologies that it’s easy to get overwhelmed and miss something that could be important to your business,” Magnarelli said. “It only makes sense to bring everyone together under one roof so that technologies developed in New York get the attention they’re due.”

To further meet the goal of bringing New York-developed technologies to market, Magnarelli recently held a roundtable discussion on the role of the state’s community colleges in high tech economic development. Included on the panel was Dr. Debbie Sydow, President of Onondaga County Community College.

“This roundtable meeting really gave us a good idea of where we can go as a state, because we had everyone – from business leaders to university heads to local officials – sitting down together,” said Magnarelli. “I think all of us came away with a greater appreciation of the complementary forces we can harness right here in New York.

“All across the country, states are looking for ways out of their economic difficulties, and New York is no different,” Magnarelli said. “What sets us apart, though, is the amount of ingenuity, talent and drive that New Yorkers have. Once we harness that more effectively, I have no doubt that we’ll build the kind of economy all of us desire.”