Reuters has ranked the top 100 universities across the world, putting Stanford University at the top and naming KU Leuven as the most innovative institution in Europe.

Nucana, a Scottish Investment Bank-backed cancer treatment developer, and Nightstar Therapeutics, an Oxford spinout focused on retinal gene therapies, have entered the public market.

Aarhus University has launched its Open Science platform, supported by a Kr2.5m ($390,000) investment from the Danish Industry Foundation. The project aims to tackle obstacles that currently make it difficult and expensive for companies to access basic academic research.

The question for governments and investors is whether a founding idea will create a company large enough in terms of revenues, profits or employees.

September issue editorial from Thierry Heles, editor, Global University Venturing.

The UK government has published a consultation into patient capital, indicating a shift in focus towards scaling up firms away from a perceived fixation on generating new spinouts.

The institution has partnered a range of Danish corporates to conduct basic research and publish the results for anyone to use.