Reasons to be cheerful

In last month’s editorial, looking back on 2017, this publication noted that university venturing very much appears to be on an upwards trajectory – and if the first few weeks of 2018 are anything to go by, that prediction will more than hold true.

So here are some reasons to be cheerful.

As of the time of writing, our website has just concluded one of the busiest weeks in a while. University of Sydney’s dermatology product spinout Elastagen was acquired by pharmaceutical firm Allergan  for an upfront consideration of $95m, Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s tech transfer office Yissum joined forces with OurCrowd and several corporates for an incubator, innovation platform Future Planet Capital launched two – yes, two – funds in the space of a couple of days, and a multitude of universities have positioned themselves for more future success by hiring experts such as Adam Krynicki, who will be the executive director of Oregon State University – Cascades’ startup hub, Innovation Co-Lab, set to open next month.

2018 has also brought us really intriguing news items already. Massachusetts Institute of Technology has launched two separate spinouts, Lightmatter and Lightelligence, that essentially exploit the same research after the co-authors of the initial paper parted ways for undisclosed reasons: the subject of a Big Deal article in this magazine.

Global University Venturing itself also celebrated a new milestone last month, when University of California (UC) brought five startups to the GCVI Summit in Monterey to pitch in front of 650 delegates – see also the in-depth look at the UC Showcase event and the roundup of the wider conference in this month’s issue. The winning startup – revealed in the UC Showcase roundup – has been invited by sponsor Future Planet Capital to join us at GUV:Fusion in London this coming May, so now is a great time to buy your ticket.

And in case you are craving more from California: we have an interview coming up with Christine Gulbranson, the senior vice-president for innovation and entrepreneurship at UC and chair of the Global University Venturing Leadership Society, in the March issue – stay tuned.

Would you like more reasons to be cheerful? Global University Venturing is in the early stages of putting together the shortlists for this year’s GUV Awards, to be held as part of the gala dinner of GUV:Fusion. We will announce the shortlists closer to the date, but rest assured: the choices are proving some of the toughest yet – a true testament to the state of university venturing in 2018.