Universities are a breeding ground for producing innovative ideas that have a profound impact on our society. Some of the best-known worldwide companies, for example, Google, Facebook and FedEx, have been founded at universities. They all have the same thing in common- they are extremely valuable and profitable.
The United Kingdom has a big part to play in this realm, with its universities having a fantastic reputation in many areas, including engineering, IT, and pharmaceuticals. Now the focus has turned to academic spinouts and which universities produce the most successful.
An academic spinout is a company that has been created as a result of university research and then commercialised by the university’s enterprise team. The company’s management may be researchers or even PhD students. The university provides start-up capital and can also act as a shareholder. Finally, the spinout is given access to a workspace and facilities at the university. Producing a spinout at a specific university can only be beneficial, as it helps to enhance the organisation’s reputation and increases its profile in the enterprise sector.
Oxford and Cambridge are the top two universities with the most spinouts in the UK. This is probably unsurprising to many, as they already have well-established reputations for the quality of their research. Making up the top 4 are Imperial and UCL, two London universities that are making the most of their location and access to business resources.
The success of the many spinouts from UK universities shows the strength of their research. It backs up their reputation for innovation and industry, as well as the environment they create that unleashes students’ potential.
