Industry practitioners that work with UCLA Samueli gain a competitive advantage.. Our faculty are responsive, innovative, and talented. UCLA Samueli is home to state-of-the-art laboratories and world renown centers. Partner companies often call upon academic resources to advance their work on- and off- campus. The industry/academic partnership is supported through both sponsored projects and gifts.

Sponsored projects

These are customized research engagements with one or more researchers. These engagements often begin with a meeting or campus visit where the company identifies a researcher (or researchers) with whom it would like to work. If there is mutual interest in a project, the researcher may submit a short proposal to the company for review. If the company is interested, its representatives work with the researcher to develop a detailed plan that covers the scope, schedule and budget for the project. This plan is then sent to the UCLA’s Technology Development Group, which works with the company to negotiate a formal legal agreement covering the project. The agreement typically includes project milestones and deliverables as well as intellectual property and other contract terms. Industry-sponsored projects are subject to indirect costs at the same level that applies to federal grants. The cost for a sponsored project varies depending on the scope. Most researchers like to get at least enough funding to support a graduate student for one year, which is approximately $70,000 annually, and does not include costs for faculty time, equipment, materials or travel.

Gifts

Some companies support UCLA Samueli research through gifts to departments, labs or programs doing work that is of company interest. Like sponsored projects, companies often identify areas they would like to support through hosted campus visits. Once the donor has decided on a recipient and an amount, then our team will work with the company to put together an agreement to document the gift.

Since a gift is philanthropic, there are no contracted deliverables or intellectual property access. The campus does not assess indirect costs for gift support, although all gifts are assessed a small administrative fee. The gift is tax-deductible. Companies may also provide gift support to the university through in-kind donations of equipment or software. In-kind donations may be tax-deductible, but the company must develop its own assessment of the value of its gift for tax purposes.

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