How to turn your researchers into entrepreneurs

Researchers turned entrepreneurs are providing an increasingly significant channel for spin-off formation and technology transfer, making it ever-more crucial that universities create a supportive environment for young researchers with entrepreneurial aspirations.

There are several ways in which institutions can go about engendering such an environment, according to contributors to the session, Spinning out – Tech Transfer Strategies, at the Science|Business European Entrepreneurship Summit.

For Karen Maex, Vice-Rector Science, Engineering and Technology at KU Leuven, one way to encourage and help young researchers to transfer their technology - and to promote entrepreneurial thinking - is for them to mix with the right people. At KU Leuven, she explained, “We pay a lot of attention to making sure that our students at masters’ level and at PhD level come into contact with entrepreneurship and everything that is related to that.”

Ingredients for technology transfer

Support for aspiring entrepreneurs can come through training, access to facilities such as incubators, and - perhaps most important - introductions to networks of entrepreneurs and people who can guide, and possibly even fund, their business development.

These are all ingredients of the portfolio of support for technology transfer that the three Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) in ICT, Climate, and Energy are developing on behalf of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).

Sharing entrepreneurial knowledge

Young entrepreneurs also benefit from the ability to share knowledge with people in the same position, as Gandert Van Raemdonck, Chief Technical Officer of Ephicas, described. Ephicas, winner of a Science|Business Academic Enterprise (ACES) award in 2008, started life in an incubator at TU Delft. Not only did the company pay a low rent, the founders worked alongside other start-ups. “We were all together. That is a really important part as an entrepreneur. You share your knowledge,” Van Raemdonck said.

Companies can for example, compare notes with other business in the incubator who have similar problems, such as dealing with IP rights and fund raising.

The Climate-KIC also recognises the importance of incubators. “We have incubators in many partner [institutions],” said Mary Ritter, CEO of the Climate-KIC, which is creating a network of incubators in its co-location centres in France, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the UK. 

Welcome to the Hotel Incubator

As well as comparing best practice, the network will also look at how the incubators vary in the types of assistance they provide. In this way, entrepreneurs will be better informed as to which incubator provides the support they need. Think of it like hotels, Ritter suggested. “It is not necessarily the quality, it is the facilities that are offered.”

Marco Waas, Knowledge Valorisation Portfolio Holder at TU Delft, who is managing this activity on behalf of the Climate-KIC, said it is also intended that the network of incubators will facilitate connections with venture capital. The network will do this by becoming what is effectively a ‘virtual cluster’ with the stature to attract investors who might otherwise not be interested in smaller groups.

As CEO of the Climate-KIC, Ritter is on the front line of some new initiatives that are trying to engender a more entrepreneurial environment in Europe and inject more entrepreneurial thinking into European research. For Ritter it takes three things to be an entrepreneur. First, it must “be in your DNA”, second it is crucial to have knowledge of the relevant sector. The third component is experience.

The Journey

Climate-KIC is aiming to help young researchers accrue that experience through one of its programmes, called “The Journey” in which MSc and PhD students spend five weeks travelling around the KIC’s co-location centres, visiting companies, universities, local government and other organisations. This shows students “what is happening on the ground, what the problems are,” Ritter said. One of the most eye-opening visits was to Utrecht, where student gathered real insights into local problems. For example, Utrecht has carbon targets that it does not know how to address.

Following the five week tour, students have business coaching and can pitch ideas for businesses they would like to set up. Successful students can apply for money and time in an incubator to develop their ideas. Ritter said this scheme is delivering results already, with four ideas attracting external funding.

Alternative avenues

But in all of the talk of creating the right environment for young entrepreneurs, speakers stressed it is important to recognise the other routes for technology transfer, “There are many different ways to do technology transfer and knowledge exchange. We should just be aware of them and use them all,” said Ritter.

It is also important to recognise that the flow of knowledge is not a one way process. Maex warned that talk of technology transfer itself can be misleading. In her view, it is important to think of the two-way flow of knowledge between universities and businesses.

Maex also emphasised the importance of looking beyond the spin-offs and transfer of patents, which grab most of the attention when talking of technology transfer. “This is important, but there is also a lot of collaborative research that is also extremely important and beneficial for the growth of technology and the collaborative partnerships between universities and industry at large.”