ACTIVITIES
Building our innovation ecosystem through partnership
Our activities at OUI are driven by our engagement with a wider ecosystem in and around the University of Oxford and our science and innovation campuses. Our teams of OUI experts seek to broaden the diversity of options to commercialise world class research and ideas at Oxford, spark new collaborations and encourage more members of the university to engage with innovation through our stakeholder engagement activities.
In early 2024, the Oxford Innovation Society (OIS) relaunched with a renewed vision centred on enhancing collaboration. Our busy new programme of events ranges from investor showcases in the Life Sciences and Deep Tech sectors, to expert-led training and networking lunches for our companies. The OIS network is looking to grow its membership of researchers, company leaders, venture capitalists, and industry experts; we hope with your collaboration we can continue to foster partnerships and further growth in Oxford.
Growing the funding landscape
OUI is bolstering the opportunities for our companies to engage with different investors in the UK and internationally. Earlier this year, the OUI team organised a side event at the JPM Healthcare conference in San Francisco to connect investors in the U.S. with our spinout leaders.
“The OIS networking platform is looking to grow its membership and we hope with your collaboration we can continue to foster partnerships and further growth in Oxford, the U.K. and internationally.”
U.K. government partners and more than 15 spinout companies from our portfolio joined us on the West Coast for a dynamic first event. Speakers included Srini Akaraju from Samsara Capital, who shared his experience of building Mirobio, and Peter Donnelly presented highlights from successfully growing Genomics Plc. OUI also hosted U.S. investors last June and this summer in Oxfordshire to experience the Harwell Research & Innovation Campus and meet with our spinouts in the Life Sciences and Deep Tech sectors. We co-organised our first family office event, bringing high-net-worth individuals and family offices together to explore investment opportunities in our companies.
Collaborating with University Partners around the UK
In October 2023, the technology transfer offices of Cambridge, Imperial, Oxford and UCL hosted the first IP4U University Tech Fair. We gathered 80 top academic teams to showcase cutting-edge technologies to potential industry partners who might license university technologies in the sustainability and health sectors.
OUI worked alongside 9 other technology transfer offices and investors to create the TenU University Spinout Investment Terms (USIT) Guide for Software. This practical tool was born out of a recommendation from the Independent Review of University Spinouts in the Autumn of 2023, co-chaired by Professor Irene Tracey, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford.
A consortium of university partners, led by OUI, launched ImpactU to expand the impact of social ventures from UK universities. With 21 member universities, ImpactU has launched new training courses, led by the London School of Economics, and awarded two Pathfinder awards so far to help social ventures to grow.
Developing Inclusive Entrepreneurship & Economic Development
OUI continue to work with EnSpire Oxford, the University’s Entrepreneurship Hub, connecting students and staff with OUI’s growing Start-up Incubator and our student focused programme, StEP Ignite.
Our engagement through departments, research programmes, Demo nights and Pitch Days reflects our commitment to growing the entrepreneurial community. One of EnSpire’s key activities, IDEA, focuses on supporting women and non-binary individuals. IDEA (Increasing Diversity in Enterprising Activities) has grown its offerings and participation, and welcomed a new Academic Champion for Women and Diversity, Professor Dame Molly Stevens this past year.
OUI’s startup incubator, led by Cath Spence, has expanded rapidly, supporting three new cohorts this year. Over 40 teams joined the first phase of our programme, designed to guide startups through the business validation process, and 12 teams advanced to the next phase – getting investment ready. StEP Ignite, our intensive summer programme for student entrepreneurs, welcomed 27 students working on 9 diverse projects ranging from malaria testing to virtual reality medical training. Jump to our case studies section to discover Onfido, a start-up born out of OUI’s Incubator. This global leader in identity verification was bought by Entrust Corp and signalled the largest ever student-led company return on investment for the University of Oxford.
OUI’s Consulting Services has launched a number of initiatives, including CS Enterprises, which allows researchers to test potential service-type offerings before launching a company. An equipment and facilities database to help industry access the university, as well as an industry/academic matching platform are also in development.
“OUI’s Consulting Services team has launched a new offering, allowing researchers to test potential business ideas with service support before launching a spinout.”
The Oxford University Innovation Venture Scout Programme ran a first pilot scheme this year. The programme trained a cohort of Said Business School students and Oxford alumni to harness their experience and entrepreneurial spirit into spinout creation. The Venture Scouts then explored the University to create new links with scientific teams – a new generation of spinout proposals with a ‘baked-in’ entrepreneur. A new programme will launch this year.
Our social venture leaders connected at the OUI Social Ventures Showcase, hosted with the Skoll Centre during the Skoll World Forum. The event celebrated social entrepreneurs tackling global challenges and brought their ventures together with students, alumni, and investors to explore innovative solutions and establish new partnerships.
All of these activities underscore OUI’s unwavering commitment to driving innovation through strategic partnerships, comprehensive engagement, and robust support from OUI’s team of experts.