Technology transfer from the university is improving the local market.

New Mexico University’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research has released a study which concludes that the institution’s spin-outs are having a significant influence on the local market.

The study considered data from 26 spin-outs launched since 2005, which have hired a total of 147 staff to date, and have generated some $8.55m in wages and benefits in 2013 alone. In the same year, the economic impact of these companies has been $18.44m through direct, indirect and induced influence.

The numbers could be deemed conservative, as the university has in fact spun out nearly 50 companies in that time period, but only 26 of them provided the bureau with the required data. The study also did not take into consideration about $17.5m in venture funding which the companies have raised, as it was too difficult to determine how much of that money has already been spent on infrastructure and wages, and how much is still left to spend in future.

The study is the third of its kind for the university, with previous ones having been released in 2004 and 2011.

The bureau is hopeful that growth will continue. The optimism is based on the latest numbers from the financial year ending June 2014, which show a slight decline, but are still higher than at any other point in the past decade. In fact, when comparing the total of 2010 to 2014 to that of 2005 to 2009, the growth is in the double and triple digits across all categories.

Joe Cecchi, dean at the university’s School of Engineering, said: “It takes a while, but over time, the programme’s direction and the progress achieved is unmistakable. The [university’s tech transfer organisation] Science and Technology Corporation has created a favourable environment that helps inventors and startups connect with the broader economic development community, and that helps to push the commercialisation process in general forward.”