The Value of Partnerships

We have formed a consortium of companies, practitioners and other universities who share our vision of technology enabling older adults and people with disabilities. The new QoLT field provides partnership opportunities with multiple academic communities - K-12, pre-college, undergraduate, post-graduate - on the use of cutting edge technologies in a vital public service. It provides a vehicle to inspire and engage diverse populations in learning and careers. Student engagement helps refine ERC programs to reflect the communities' needs and preferences, and make QoLT a field that is truly participatory.

The QoLT Center collaborates with member companies in the development, maturation, and field testing of QoLT prototypes. Our model is based largely on past experience in transferring technology to industry, which requires 1) extensive engineering and field testing to create pre-commercial prototypes; and 2) company representatives participation in the project to effectivley and efficiently transfer technology.  Partner organizations and institutions benefit through co-creation of curricula and outreach activities, real-world perspectives of the other partners, and early access to newly implemented QoLT Center devices and methods. We all benefit from a mutual understanding of each others' needs, constraints, challenges, and successes.

We actively seek the participation of regional and U.S. companies and multi-national firms based abroad. Our most important contributions to QoLT ERC member companies are to add value to their product base through access to research and to create entirely new technologies for licensing. Our partnerships with regional economic development organizations facilitate technology transfer and commercialization.