The US university recently created an office of innovation as part of a drive to commercialise more of the research coming out of its labs.
The US Ivy League university is aiming to deepen its collaboration with businesses and make it simpler to commercialise the innovation coming out of its labs.
The university announced last month the launch of an office of innovation that combines its technology licencing and ventures divisions with people at the university who create partnerships with industry. The aim is to “provide some sort of overarching vision to what is a very complex ecosystem,” says Craig Arnold (pictured), the university’s first innovation officer.
Arnold said the new office creates a metaphorical “front door” to the university’s commercialisation arm that previously spread across separate divisions.
Bringing its commercialisation programmes together under one umbrella means “we have a more coherent voice. We’re able to create processes that will help someone get from A to B and, in some ways, be a one-stop-shop,” he says.
The creation of a centralised office of innovation is part of generational change at the university, evolved over the past decade, that places less emphasis on simply teaching entrepreneurialism and focusing more on commercialising research.
“This is a formal recognition that innovation is a core part of a university like Princeton and that we embrace it, and we are going to support it,” says Arnold.
The innovation office aims to expand industry partnerships to help it translate its research. Arnold said he had just made contact with a company running a venture studio, for example, that wants to work with the university on creating ventures.
Recent partnerships the university has with industry include pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb sponsoring its research into molecular biology. Princeton university researchers also work with IT company IBM on quantum computing research projects.
Last year, the university announced it was creating an AI hub in its home state of New Jersey which brings together researchers with industry and startups to promote the development of ethical AI technology. The hub has a dedicated accelerator for creating ventures.
Despite its push to brand itself as an engine of innovation, the university does not have plans to set up its own venture fund, says Arnold. An increasing number of US academic institutions are creating their own investment vehicles to finance their spinouts.
The US lags behind other countries in the proportion of universities that fund their own spinouts. Global University Venturing research finds that only a third of US research universities have their own venture fund, despite evidence that having one increases spinout rates.
“I think we could do better at building up connections with additional funds and funders to build something collaboratively,” says Arnold.
But he adds: “When I look at an investment, it’s not just the money that comes to the table. It’s the expertise, the knowledge, the mentorship.”
