This online conference will examine priorities for university spin-outs in the UK, in the context of the Government’s £30m investment in regional spin-out hubs, and wider developments in policy and funding set out in the 2025 Spending Review and the Modern Industrial Strategy.

Sessions will consider recent government innovation and funding initiatives and national data and accountability frameworks. These include the new Knowledge Asset Commercialisation Guide published by the Government Office for Technology Transfer to support consistent approaches to valuing and licensing public sector intellectual property, alongside the UK Spin-Out Register, set out by UK Research and Innovation, aiming to increase transparency and enable benchmarking across institutions, as well as the evolving requirements of the Research Excellence Framework 2028, with its stronger emphasis on impact and knowledge exchange.

Delegates will discuss implications for cross-sector knowledge exchange, public-private investment strategies, and coordination with wider regional innovation goals. They will also consider strategies for supporting emerging centres of spin-out activity beyond the Golden Triangle and widening participation in commercialisation activity.