Yale overhauls innovation activities

Yale University unveiled a new organisation yesterday to double down on its innovation and entrepreneurship activities on campus and throughout the region.

Yale Ventures will be split into four units: intellectual property and licensing services; innovation training and startups; corporate partnerships; and innovation community. Each unit will be allocated new university investment.

As part of the change, Yale is retiring the Office of Cooperative Research name but expanding the team.

Yale Ventures will be led by managing director Josh Geballe, who is also senior associate provost for entrepreneurship and innovation. Geballe was appointed in February this year to succeed Jon Soderstrom, who had retired last year after more than 25 years in charge.

Geballe said: “The launch of Yale Ventures is an important step in expanding the impact Yale will have on addressing many of the world’s biggest challenges. New Haven is booming with exciting startups, imagined and led by talented people on the cutting edge of medicine, science, and engineering, who are eager to see their work result in new products and services that make a large-scale impact.

“Yale Ventures intends to play a key role in making New Haven a globally recognised hub of innovation, and this is the ideal time to undergo this exciting transformation.”