University of Waterloo has more to offer in inspiration than Intellectual Property models

Waterloo Commercialisation Office (WatCo)

Internationally renowned commercialisation expert Scott Inwood, Director of Commercialisation at the University of Waterloo’s Commercialisation Office (WatCo), recently visited New Zealand, sponsored by the University of Auckland’s commercialisation company UniServices. While here, Scott met with a variety of University staff and gave a presentation at the Business School’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

The University of Auckland was privileged to host Inwood during this critical time as New Zealand’s science system embarks on significant reform. The New Zealand Government has proposed a nationwide introduction of professor privilege, modelled on the Waterloo approach, where ownership rests with individual researchers rather than their institutions.

The University of Waterloo is recognised as one of the world’s leading university innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems. Since 1997, Scott has played a pivotal role in shaping its approach to IP management, spin-out creation, and commercialisation partnerships. He’s been a frequent speaker for global audiences such as the OECD, serving as an expert witness before the Canadian Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industry, Science, and Technology, and acting as a regular lecturer with the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada.

There are many similarities between the University of Auckland and the University of Waterloo. They have similar sized university populations and both are known for being nationally leading in research and innovation. However, Waterloo is further along in its evolution as an entrepreneurial university. It has a regional start-up density second only to Silicon Valley.

The city of Waterloo and its university are intrinsically linked. Waterloo has a concentration of over 1,000 hi-tech companies. Its vision to build close relationships with industry began in the 1950s. Skip ahead to modern-day Waterloo, and the university has the largest co-operative education programme in the world. Over 24,000 students each year have work experience with over 8,000 employers.

Scott says “As well as giving students a head-start in preparing for the working world, it’s enabled information flow between industry and academia, inspiring more industry-related research and more industry-relevant curriculum. It also provides market-driven insights for student Capstone projects, which often serve as the foundation for business opportunities. Many of these projects become part of the start-up pipeline flowing into Waterloo’s renowned Velocity mentoring incubator, valued by the wider community for its significant economic contribution to the city.”

During his talk at the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Scott shared that Waterloo’s success has more to do with the innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem than intellectual property models. Formal undergraduate and graduate curriculum offered through the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business combined with the availability of informal student extra-curricular entrepreneurship programmes serve to develop entrepreneurial talent that is motivated to pursue startup creation. An entrepreneurial campus culture has been created, financial and physical infrastructure is substantial, and support is flexible and responsive.

Scott says, “Simply changing IP policies on campus doesn’t change much. Universities need a far more integrated approach, one that builds an entrepreneurial campus culture, supports innovation and entrepreneurship end-to-end, and links education pathways directly with industry to drive meaningful impact.”

It’s a model that innovation and entrepreneurship staff at the University of Auckland have been actively establishing. Will Charles, Executive Director of Investment at UniServices, says “Focussing on IP ownership is a red herring. Really, in order to translate research into impactful results, you need three things – a good idea, money and talent. The way to mobilise talent is through incentives so that people are rewarded for the efforts they make in translating their research into tangible new products and services. At the University of Auckland, we have a larger entrepreneurial support system than most other institutions in NZ. We’ve been able to be flexible and responsive in our approach to incentivise people to explore entrepreneurship, leading to Auckland having the highest number of spin outs in Australasia.”

As New Zealand reforms its science and innovation system, Scott’s visit has offered insight and inspiration beyond intellectual property models. As New Zealand’s economic identity continues to evolve its efforts in technology and entrepreneurship, the University of Auckland has the opportunity to build on its innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem and existing success to help move New Zealand forward.