Boosting the UK’s science superpower status through university spinouts

Composite image shows a scientists top left and bottom right, and DNA top right and bottom left. New guidance designed to accelerate and support a new generation of innovative spinouts and boost the UK's potential as a science superpower has been launched by a leading group of universities, including UCL, with the advice and backing of major investors. The University Spinout Investment Terms (USIT) Guide will simplify and shorten the process behind universities spinning out new companies, enabling the Higher Education sector to take real-time advantage of research breakthroughs. It was conceived and started in January 2022, before the government launched a review into the UK spinout landscape in March this year. The authors say this guidance is an important first step in growing investment in the spinout ecosystem and will provide an excellent basis for the review. Many of the UK's most successful technology firms, including Solexa, Oxford Nanopore and ARM, started out as university spinouts, and USIT's authors hope the guidance will encourage many more to follow suit, boosting the UK economy. The UK already excels in its development of spinouts speeding up the pace of innovation and change within their sectors.