Johns $40m to cultivate innovation

Johns Hopkins University has revealed a plan for enhancing support of innovation and entrepreneurship on campus, backed by $40m.

As part of the announcement, the university is launching a $10m pre-seed evergreen grant fund. In addition, the institution is planning to develop an investment fund to be externally managed, and will draw on resources outside of the earmarked $40m.

The remaining $30m will be split into developing space around the campus and resources.

The university will be developing a new building for supporting its innovation efforts, scheduled to be opened in late 2016. Named FastForward East, the building will become the new home of Johns Hopkins’ commercialisation efforts, including Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures, its tech transfer office. It’ll also be open to all entrepreneurs both on and off campus, drawing from startups in the local area.

In a document detailing 22 recommendations in total to boost innovation at Johns Hopkins, Ronald Daniels, the institution’s president, said: “This is an exciting moment for innovation and entrepreneurship at research universities, especially Johns Hopkins. Discovery and entrepreneurial endeavor are converging in unprecedented ways. Investigators are moving more easily along a spectrum between basic and applied research, and urban universities like ours are increasingly playing a role as igniters of economic growth in our communities.”