As an implementing partner of the EU-funded Lebanon Innovate program, led by Berytech, ELCIM at the Industrial Research Institute (IRI) is working with the Lebanese American University (LAU) to strengthen its Technology Transfer Office (TTO), helping researchers protect their innovations and create pathways for research to achieve impact beyond the university.
For LAU, this partnership is helping build a stronger culture of innovation and commercialization. Through the support of Lebanon Innovate and its local partners, the university has established its Technology Transfer Office, providing researchers with the guidance, tools, and processes needed to protect intellectual property and explore opportunities for bringing their ideas to market.
One of the most significant outcomes of this work has been the support of LAU’s first international patent filing—a milestone that demonstrates the growing maturity of the university’s innovation ecosystem and its ability to translate research into protected, globally relevant technologies.
The achievement is exemplified by the journey of Michael, an LAU researcher who developed an AI-powered translation system for low-resource dialectal languages. Designed to make communication more accessible and inclusive, the technology has benefited from the support of LAU’s TTO, enabling the team to secure international intellectual property protection and move closer to reaching users beyond the research environment.
According to LAU Engine, the university’s entrepreneurship and innovation hub, Michael’s experience reflects a broader effort to help innovators move from research and discovery to intellectual property protection, startup creation, and real-world impact. The international patent filing serves as proof that innovations developed at LAU can be positioned for opportunities far beyond the laboratory.
For Lebanon Innovate and its local partners, this milestone highlights the importance of equipping universities with the structures needed to support innovation and commercialization. It demonstrates how researchers can turn promising ideas into technologies with the potential to address real-world challenges when backed by the right institutional support.
That is the core of what Lebanon Innovate offers: funded by the European Union and implemented locally, the programme helps universities strengthen their innovation ecosystems and unlock the commercial and societal value of research.
Through this work, LAU is creating new opportunities for researchers, innovators, future founders, and entrepreneurs to take their ideas beyond academia and transform them into solutions that can create meaningful impact.
Watch the testimonial video to learn more about LAU’s innovation journey and the role of Lebanon Innovate in supporting research commercialization and technology transfer.
