University optimism shines through survey results

With 2016 slowly but surely coming into swing, it is time to take a look at the annual Global University Venturing survey we conducted in the run-up to the holiday. First of all, we would like to thank all of you who provided us with answers – we know your time is valuable and we appreciate it.

Although the data has been collected mainly to understand our audience better and enable us to continue delivering great content, we would like to take this opportunity to share some key points.

First of all, a clear majority of 80% of our respondents expect their tech transfer office to produce more spinouts in the coming year. While that may not be a unanimous optimism, half of those who said they were not expecting to launch more spinouts are hoping to have a higher return on their research in 2016 and the other half are at least forecasting the same levels.

Overall, half the respondents are expecting to earn more from research. Worryingly perhaps, a fifth foresee a lower return from research, though all of these are looking towards a stable or higher income from licensing activities over the next 12 months.

Meanwhile, an overarching trend emerged for issues that defined the past year, with every respondent mentioning the availability of various forms of funding. Some focused on crowdfunding and others pointed towards the keenness of some venture capitalists and private equity firms to back software, IT and healthcare spinouts.

In the UK, many appear worried about the comprehensive spending review and chancellor George Osborne’s next salvo of cuts, which might force some institutions to reduce their spinout activities. Another pain point for UK-based universities is the impending referendum on EU membership, which could have significant impacts if the population votes to exit.

The challenges encountered by technology transfer offices over the past year are varied, though a couple of themes did emerge – on one hand, many have problems accessing talented people, though they acknowledge that the talent is, in fact, there, and on the other hand a few of our readers have struggled with the various parties involved in the spinout process not always understanding that capital needs to be patient.

In what should make for some interesting crossover articles with our sister publication Global Corporate Venturing, a total of 50% of respondents revealed that they expect to ramp up collaboration with corporate venturing units in 2016. The remaining 50% are hoping to maintain their current levels of cooperation with industry.

Finally, only 50% of respondents worked for tech transfer offices with their own venturing funds, though nearly half of those who do not have a fund are in discussions to raise at least one.

In conclusion, there appears to be a general optimism among our readers, and respondents’ hope to produce more spinouts this year is a cause for celebration. We look forward to bringing you more of the content you enjoy reading, and news that will help you tackle challenges over the next 12 months.

If you have any comments, contact the GUV staff – email reporter Thierry Heles at theles@mawsonia.com. We are hoping to write more in-depth profiles this year, such as our features on Max Planck Innovation, Old College Capital and Edinburgh Research and Innovation and Mars Innovation, so feel free to reach out – we want to hear from you.