Preparing Technology Summaries for Inpart: Best Practices 

Publishing a technology on Inpart when you have a prewritten summary couldn’t be easier; simply upload the prewritten one-pager or web link to the Inpart dashboard and our team will handle the rest.

The steps below take you through the process from start to finish.

Before you start: know your audience

The R&D professionals reading your summary are often pressed for time. Their goal is to quickly assess whether your technology is relevant to their current priorities and whether it solves a problem they have.

With that in mind, these three things can make a big difference to how your summary is received:

• Keep it accessible: A technology summary is not a scientific paper or a patent. The language should be clear and direct, accessible to a scientifically literate reader who is not a specialist in your area.
• Tell a story: Explain why this technology is needed. A short narrative arc – problem, approach, and solution – is more engaging than a list of technical attributes and easier for a non-specialist to follow. If an analogy helps to explain a complex concept, use it.
• Frame it commercially: One of the key questions R&D readers are asking is: what problem does this solve, and why is it better than what already exists? Keep that framing in mind throughout, not just in the benefits section. Your summary should help the reader to understand the gaps in the market your opportunity will fill.

Step 1: Gather the information

Start by familiarising yourself with the Inpart Connect submission template, which provides a blank summary with sections for all the information we recommend including. From there, gather all currently available non-confidential information relating to the technology. Relevant documents can include technology disclosures, journal articles, patents, funding applications, academic posters and presentations, individual figures and images, news articles and press releases, or video demonstrations.

When gathering this information, we recommend involving the PI to ensure that all the information is up to date.

Step 2: Pick out the key points

Once you have your documents together, you can begin populating the submission template. We recommend doing this offline before working directly into the technology drafter on the platform.

The invention disclosure form is often the most useful starting point. An invention disclosure is generally fairly standardised in its content and format; however, it is unique to each university.

A well-aligned disclosure form means you already have most of what you need in one place. Beyond the disclosure, check the abstracts of any other associated documents. The nature of an abstract means that it summarises the key points of a research project. If something is important enough to be included in an abstract, it is likely important enough to feature somewhere in the summary.

Step 3: Fill in the gaps and trim the excess 

Not everything you need will be in the abstracts, so once you have the basics, you may need to dive deeper. With a journal article, most of the information needed for the' background' section can be drawn from the introduction, the ‘technology overview’ from the conclusions, and the ‘benefits’ from the summary. ‘Applications’ will often come from existing knowledge and conversations with the PI.

Some information gaps can be addressed by linking to figures, videos, or research data rather than describing them in full. This can help to keep the summary concise whilst providing extra information to readers to industry members who want a deeper understanding before contacting you.

When it comes to what to leave out, cut anything that doesn’t serve the reader: detailed experimental protocols are not likely to be relevant at this stage. The industry audience on Inpart wants to understand what unmet need the technology addresses, what its benefits are over existing solutions, and what potential applications it has.

Step 4: Add in the extra details 

Once the core content is in place, add the details that are specific to technology transfer:

Give your technology an effective title

The title is the first thing a potential partner sees, so it’s worth getting it right. An analysis of 8,500 technologies on the platform found that titles between four and ten words consistently outperform shorter or longer ones. At this length, they are descriptive enough to convey what the technology does, but concise enough not to lose the reader. If your technology has a trade name or acronym, spell out what it means rather than letting it stand alone, and where possible, work in a key benefit or differentiator: terms like "biodegradable", "novel", or "more efficient" appear frequently in top-performing titles.

For a more detailed breakdown, see Why your technology title matters.

Technology Readiness Level (TRL)

Originally developed by NASA and subsequently adapted by the European Union, the TRL framework provides a standardised scale from 1 (basic principles observed) to 9 (system proven in operational environment). It is one of the most consistently cited pieces of information that R&D professionals want to see, because it tells them immediately how much further development would be required and whether they have the capacity to engage. Some companies actively seek early-stage technologies so they can influence the direction of development, while others may only engage once a technology is closer to market.

Being transparent about TRL saves time on both sides, and it is worth keeping the summary updated as the technology progresses — even a note on proposed next steps signals that the project is still active.

Intellectual Property

Include patent status, patent numbers and territories, whether the technology is protected by copyright or know-how protection. Link to published patents where possible. This information can make the difference between a company taking the time to investigate further or moving on.

Opportunity and seeking

Be explicit about what kind of collaboration or partnership you are looking for. Whether that is co-development, licensing, investment, or simply feedback at an early stage, stating this clearly in the Opportunity and Seeking sections of the template helps companies understand immediately how they could engage, and allows our Research Team to target their matchmaking more effectively.

Step 5: Refine the language and formatting 

A few practical points for the editing pass:

• Spell out all acronyms in their first instance and provide context for any specialist terminology.
• Use concise bullet points in the benefits and applications sections where possible. This makes the most important information easy to scan.
• Aim for one page. A summary that is too long dilutes its own impact and may put off a busy audience; one that is too short may not provide enough to generate interest. The goal is to provide the minimum essential information to prompt a question that opens the door to a conversation. Link to additional materials rather than including everything.
• Check your tone. Does the technology summary serve the intended audience?

Step 6: Share the workload 

We appreciate that small TTO teams can struggle to find the time to draft new summaries. Many universities on Inpart address this by involving student interns with an interest in the tech transfer space, or by mobilising engaged academics to draft their own summaries.

Involving the PI in the drafting process can also help build advocates for commercialisation within your research community, fostering a broader culture of technology transfer at your institution.

Quick Reference:

• Gather all non-confidential documents before you start: disclosures, papers, patents, and presentations.
• Use abstracts as a shortcut to the key points.
• Frame the technology commercially from the outset: what problem does it solve, and why is it better than what already exists?
• Write for a scientifically literate but non-specialist audience — clear, concise, and jargon-light.
• Tell a story: use a narrative structure and analogies to make complex ideas accessible.
• Include a TRL and keep it updated as the technology develops.
• State your IP position and what kind of collaboration you are seeking.
• Aim for one page; use links to additional materials rather than cramming everything in.
• Use bullet points for benefits and applications.
• Involve the PI: it saves time, improves quality, and builds commercial awareness. 

And remember, all information included in your Inpart technology summaries must be non-confidential.