The first comment I'll make has to do with whether or not it's disclosed within the university. That would imply that it would be the university that would be active in protecting it and commercializing it. That's not really what I mean. I just want to make sure that it's disclosed to someone, so that they can effectively move on it. It could be done within the university. If the student takes it to a lawyer, protects it himself, and commercializes it, that's perfectly fine by my view of the world as well, as long as we get it out.
How we start with an undergraduate student is that we effectively have a module on IP that explains what it is and what the opportunities are if you have something you think you're going to protect. At the undergraduate level, we often refer them to someone they can talk to in confidence about whether it is an idea to move forward with. At the undergraduate level, there is a lot of nurturing on what IP is. It's an educational process.
As you move further and further along the chain and into graduate students and post doctorates, etc., they are usually aware of it sufficiently that they know they have something and would make an appropriate disclosure. They just don't know how to go about doing it. It's more that I lead them in the right direction.
I don't want to take up too much of your time, so I'll stop there.