Close
UCL is pleased to announce that we’re adopting the recommendations of good practice around university spinouts, as identified through the Independent review of university spin-out companies.
We’re further adopting the recommendations from TenU’s University Spin-out Investment Terms (USIT) Guide and TenU’s USIT for Software Guide, having contributed to the development of both guides over recent months.
UCL seeks to deliver real-world impact through our research and knowledge exchange, and a key part of that is supporting exceptional ideas across our research disciplines through commercialisation routes to bring them to market. UCL’s spinouts, supported through UCLB, have proven highly successful, with 76 active spinout companies currently supported, having raised £2.85 billion in external investment between 2018 and 2023.
We have in place strong governance procedures and policies to support our knowledge exchange and commercialisation environment, with regular review and ongoing provision around implementation, guidance and awareness raising for all staff and students. For example:
- UCL Intellectual Property (IP) Policy addresses the ownership, use and management of IP created across UCL, demonstrating the value UCL places on its staff and students by providing a clear and supportive framework for the management of IP.
- UCL Revenue Sharing Policy (UCL ID required to access) addresses how revenue arising from the development of IP and other innovations across UCL is shared between inventors and the institution, providing a clear framework for the management of revenue and income through commercialised activity.
- UCL Disclosure of Conflict and Declaration of Interest Policy addresses how conflicts of interest within the institution are managed and provides clear expectations of staff who may also hold roles in spinout companies alongside their university roles.
UCL is committed to deliver high quality research and knowledge exchange to achieve real-world social and economic impact for the UK and beyond. As part of our approach to this, we’re strongly committed to our spinout environment, constantly looking to improve and further develop our support to staff, developing training and delivering support at all points in the journey from discovery to launching and supporting spinouts.