The most compelling argument that we in Higher Education can make for public funding is that we deliver a strong return on taxpayers’ money. One of the most straightforward ways we can do this is by pointing to the economic impact of ‘spinouts’ – companies that are formed based on research undertaken by academics at a university.
I can speak on this subject with some pride as a new report published last week by Octopus Ventures, one of Europe’s largest venture capital teams named my institution – the University of Dundee – as the UK’s top university for producing spinouts.
Gateways to Growth: The Entrepreneurial Impact Report examined factors such as the number of patents, new companies created and recent portfolio success. The fact that Dundee was ranked higher than any of the UK’s traditional powerhouses may have raised eyebrows in some quarters but for those who have been following the University’s development over many years it comes as no surprise. Dundee has been the UK’s top-ranked university for biological sciences in the last two Research Excellence Framework exercises and a great deal of work has gone into developing a culture of entrepreneurship that allows our academics to translate their work into company formation.
Our most commercially successful spinout to date is AI drug design company Exscientia Ltd, which became one of the largest ever UK spinout exits upon its £2.2 billion launch on the NASDAQ exchange. The basis for this success is exceptional life and biomedical sciences activity, something that underpins our track record in innovation over the past two decades.
