Table 6 Organization characteristics of the university technology transfer organizations at Tsinghua University since 1990s

1. Degree of disciplinary specialization

Discipline integrated: services are provided for all the disciplines of the University.

Discipline specialized: each National Engineering Research Center focuses on a certain domain. For example, the CIMS focuses on information technology and manufacturing technology.

Discipline integrated: the services are for all the disciplines of the University.

2. Degree of task specialization

Fully integrated: reserach projects, IP management,  networking with the firms and governmental agencies.

Fully integrated: develop information manufacturing engineering system for enterprises and provide technical training and cultivating students in the field.

Fully integrated: the services include supporting technology development with market prospect, high-tech enterprise incubation and management, and IP services.

3. Level of autonomy

Dependent: as an internal research management unit directly under university administration

Dependent: a National Engineering Research Center is similar to other academic departments of the University in terms of university administration. Besides, the director of the NERC should be accountable to the Ministry of Science and Technology, as the main founder for the NERC. A chief director assigned from the university is responsible for the operation, while jointly supervised by the Ministry of Science of Technology and Tsinghua.

Semi-dependent: its upper-level institution is Tus-Holdings Co., Ltd., with core persons in the board assigned from Tsinghua, who have voting right in significant issues but do not intervene in daily operation

4. Degree of exclusivity

Exclusive: provide technology transfer services for Tsinghua University only.

Exclusive: to help enterprises make better use of technology products from Tsinghua University.

Non-exclusive: focusing on frontier science and technology (S&T) in both Tsinghua University and elsewhere.

5. Professionalization

High level: there were 40 employees in the late 1990s. 36 people have the Bachelor’s degree, 9 people have doctoral degrees, 8 people have overseas experience in relevant fields.

Low level: the members including professors, faculties, researchers, and managers from the University, without business experiences.

High level: the initial personnel were from the Science and Technology Development Office, then it recruited professionals when operating as a company

6. Standardization

High level: It is basically a continuation of the functions of the Science and Technology Development Service Departments.

High level: the Ministry of Science and Technology issues regulations for the operations of NERCs. It also follows the operational rules by Tsinghua for the research units.

High level: TusPark supports high-tech firms’ creation following fixed routines/procedures from Tsinghua and the unit itself.