In our latest episode of Innovation Unlocked, ‘Research to Reward: How to Commercialise Science’, we are joined by Managing Director at Innovate Surrey, Jim Shaikh, hosted by Partner Andrew White.
Universities play a vital role in the development of STEM innovation through spin outs, however there can often be challenges when bridging the gap between academia and industry. Whilst these inventions have the potential to be transformed into groundbreaking services and products, it is the journey to commercialisation that frequently requires further support and guidance.
In this latest episode, Jim uses his own professional experiences and expertise to highlight the best methods to protect your technology and grow, covering crucial aspects such as the purpose of Tech Transfer Offices (TTOs), the opportunities in licencing, and the importance of a strong IP strategy.
This episode is essential to those who are interested in learning more about the process of an idea to market in the university context, how to evaluate the defensibility of technology, and the value of commercialisation.
Watch the full episode now.
You can listen to the episode on Spotify here.
Episode summary
Topics discussed🎙️
- His professional background, from academic research in fluid mechanics to engineering at BMW, entrepreneurship, and finally leading Innovate Surrey and university tech transfer.
- How universities can better manage intellectual property (IP), including challenges around spinouts, licensing, and funding.
- Why licensing is often overlooked, but is a valuable commercialisation route.
- The long timelines (10–12 years) for spinout returns and the need for sustainable reinvestment rather than short-term profit.
- The potential of collaborative or shared tech transfer offices (TTOs) between universities to pool resources.
- Contrasts in management structure, motivation, and maturity between independent startups and university spinouts.
- The importance of bridging cultural and communication gaps between academia and industry.
- The funding and development gaps that occur between research and commercialisation, and how businesses can navigate them.
- Why IP matters most early in a company’s life, both as an asset and as defensibility, and how it evolves over time.
Key takeaways💡
- IP as an Enabler, Not an End Goal: Universities should focus on impact and value creation, not just on increasing spinout numbers.
- Licensing Is Underrated: Licensing can be more effective for incremental technologies that don’t justify full spinouts.
- Commercialisation Takes Patience: It often takes a decade or more for IP-based ventures to reach financial return.
- Funding Gaps Are Natural: Multiple “valleys of death” exist in the innovation process — from prototype to market scaling.
- Shared Resources Make Sense: Collaborative regional TTOs can overcome resourcing challenges.
- Academics Need Support: Many researchers want to see societal impact but lack commercial pathways or partners.
- IP Evolves: Early-stage IP is critical for investment and defensibility but must be continuously refreshed as companies grow.
- Software Licensing Requires Creativity: Without patents, software IP must rely on trade secrets, confidentiality, and continuous improvement.
Notable quotes🔊
- “The overarching driver from my point of view now seems to be science … and how can you create products or services for the market from scientific endeavour?”
- “Universities don’t actually do business…We always need partners.”
- “There’s an over-focus on spinouts and league tables… licensing is a perfectly valid way of creating impact.”
- “Not all academics can be founders — and not all academics want to be.”
- “The IP in the patent portfolio looks like something that you can grab hold of.”
- “The easiest thing to license is a patent… with software it’s much harder to define the IP.”
- “I think one of the common misconceptions that I encounter a lot is, software is not patentable, which is not the case.”
