Inside the mind of European academic entrepreneurs

Technology commercialisation is seen as key for Europe’s economic advancement. This view is shared both at the EU and at the country level. However, fewer ventures in Europe become giants in their fields, compared to the US and China/India. European startups seem to hit a ceiling and public policy makers have recognized this as a problem in terms of economic development, job creation and more generally in terms of the development of emerging industries. Consequently, Europe has recently renewed its focus on entrepreneurship and continues to invest tremendous resources to spur innovation and to promote the commercialisation of the vast stock of scientific knowledge housed in universities and public laboratories.