"Universities have been helping students become entrepreneurs since before the word "startup" existed, but it wasn't until the dot-com boom that they started taking the commercial value of campus innovation seriously. In the mid-1990s, many technology licensing offices and campus venture funds began popping up. And by the 2010s, more universities were realizing that throwing real resources behind nascent companies could stimulate local economies, bring academic work into the public sphere, and leverage powerful alumni networks."
"The program "handles all the IP that comes out of research at UM. We protect it, we form licenses, [and] then we support and invest in startups that grow out of it," says Dave Repp, director of ventures for the University of Michigan and managing director of the Accelerate Blue Fund; the university's early-stage VC arm invests exclusively in startups based on University of Michigan intellectual property."
Universities supported student entrepreneurship long before the term "startup" existed, with the dot-com boom catalyzing renewed focus on campus innovation's commercial value. Mid-1990s growth of technology licensing offices and campus venture funds institutionalized technology transfer. By the 2010s many universities began allocating substantial resources to nascent companies to stimulate local economies, translate academic work into public impact, and leverage alumni networks. Contemporary university models range from light-touch incubators to equity-taking accelerators that provide lab space, mentorship, funding, and access to research and talent. The University of Michigan's Innovation Partnerships protects IP, forms licenses, and invests through its Accelerate Blue Fund.
Read at Inc
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