Should universities take equity in spinouts?

I was pleased to contribute to a piece in The Times on the future of university spinouts, a space I care about deeply.

Universities are some of the best institutions we have. They bring together brilliant people and world-changing research. But when it comes to helping scientists build on the outcomes of that work, the system still feels unbalanced.

Scientists should own the ideas they spend their lives pursuing.

These are people who largely raise their own funding, set their own research agenda, and choose to work on problems most consider unsolvable, but which are of huge benefit to society if solved. It's why I think they lend themselves so well to entrepreneurship.

We need to start recognising scientists as the economic engine of venture and innovation creation in their own right. Giving them more agency in the spinout process isn't just about fairness. It's about giving the steering wheel and the accelerator back to the ones who are actually driving the car.

Grateful to Richard Tyler and The Times for shining a light on this conversation.