The University Liaison Program

We are very aware in the TM Forum that the next generation of our membership are currently students and that much of the innovation that will eventually lead the direction of our industry is being developed in Universities and other centres of further education.

Students / Universities need information and work, and businesses need a fresh crop of qualified graduates each year. Consequently the University Liaison program seeks to facilitate this interdependency.

The TM Forum University Liaison Program comprises TM Forum members, commercial and academic, and has been created to encourage and promote this interaction.

The ULP has one simple aim, to promote interaction between the University membership and our industry.

The ULP is unique in that it encourages peer to peer involvement in addition to team participation. Members and Universities are free to develop mutually beneficial relationships within the collaboration framework that the TM Forum provides.

 As an incentive for Universities to participate in the program by joining the Forum, we offer free Affiliate Membership, providing that a few conditions are met:
 
The University must agree to:

1. Participate in the new University Liaison Program.
2. Approve the TM Forum’s IPR agreement. All Forum members must agree to abide by Forum rules of membership including those associated with Intellectual Property Rights. In a corporate member, the company agrees to this on behalf of its employees. However, as students are not employees then any students participating must be made aware of their responsibilities regarding intellectual property. The TM Forum supplies a draft letter that can be used as a template.
3. Contribute to the TM Forum in a mutually agreed manner. Examples include translating documents, participating on a team within the TM Forum Collaboration program, or organising a regional news letter. 
    
   Affiliate membership allows all of the benefits of full membership, including full access to the TM Forum Document Library, with the exception of voting rights for member approval of documents and the board of directors.