TenU has been many years in the making, growing out of the UK from the early 2000s into the international collaboration it is today. Over these years, the growing pre-TenU UK formations met up to share effective practices as well as challenges, advise government and write occasional policy papers. The full international ten-member group came together in 2019, and in 2020 secured funding from Research England and generous support from the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) to formalise the collaboration, deepen its exchanges and widen its communications with governments and the wider tech transfer community.
I joined TenU in June 2020 to lead the realisation of TenU’s vision. Here I report on my first year by focusing on three significant achievements.
The ‘TenU Hosts’ event series
In September 2020, TenU begun hosting quarterly events offering opportunities for US and UK policymakers, thought leaders and leading practitioners in research commercialisation to hold conversations on topical issues. Since the first event in September 2020, the series has offered insight into post-pandemic trends in technology transfer and innovation: Economic Recovery, Entrepreneurial Ecosystems, International Investment, and Regional Opportunities. The series has been well-attended, including senior representatives of higher education research and funding sectors, investors and government officials from across the UK Treasury and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), as well as from individual US Congress representative offices, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and other key international organisations. Many have attended all events, validating our approach and convening power.
The next event, TenU Hosts Social Ventures, will be announced soon.
TenU’s written output
In January 2021, TenU launched its website, formalising the collaboration’s presence in the technology transfer ecosystem. By July, it had received hundreds of visitors from the US and the UK and served as a reference point for the publication of TenU developments, such as the highly sought-after event summary posts (see links above).
A high point, which increased TenU’s visibility across the EU and the English-speaking world, was the launch of the quick start guide on University Equity Stakes in Spin-Outs. The guide illustrates the complexity inherent in allocating equity in spin-outs in an easy and comprehensible way and offers up-to-date references for those wanting to delve a bit deeper into these questions.
The TenU Future Leaders Programme
Over the past year, TenU designed and developed a new training programme for mid-level tech transfer professionals that also aims to provide insight into trends in US, UK and EU research commercialisation for the tech transfer community. The first iteration of the Programme is due to start in September 2021 and is based on a remote cohort-based model with flexibility and inclusivity as founding principles. In line with TenU’s principle of sharing, the programme brings in a further five universities.
In order to run this programme, TenU secured additional funding to grow the team (welcome Emilie O’Mahony!) and to create a Diversity Fund that can be spent flexibly to accommodate a variety of equality, diversity and inclusion requirements and/or activities.
Welcome opportunities
Learning the ins and outs of remote meetings, webinars and other communications has been a steep learning curve, but as someone used to working in international settings over the phone and email, the ubiquitous adoption of video conferencing tools has been a welcome addition: seeing people’s gestures makes communication so much easier. People are also more likely to make time for Zoom meetings than for face-to-face meetings, which makes it easier to connect. The TenU Hosts event series and the TenU Future Leaders Programme have also benefitted from engaged international participants, something that we expect to carry over beyond the pandemic.
I have counted with the warm support of the fantastic teams at all of the TenU member offices—especially that of Carol Harrison and Georgina Hall—as well as at Research England and NIST. Crucially, none of the TenU activities and outputs would have been as worthwhile, were it not for an incredibly enthusiastic and friendly community who has engaged in countless ways – this, of course, has included representatives from PraxisAuril, AUTM and ASTP. I cannot thank you all enough for making this such a rewarding year, especially at a time that has been so challenging for many.
Looking ahead
During the coming year, we will continue to host the event series and to provide written content. Crucially, this year we will deliver the first iteration of the TenU Future Leaders Programme and will report on the experience and insight gained.
TenU will also deepen its collaborations with key actors in the tech transfer ecosystem and we shall report on details in due course.
Finally, this is the second year of the two-year funding granted by Research England, so much of my energy will be spent on developing, agreeing and adopting a sustainable model to finance TenU’s activities beyond the initial two-year grant. Any feedback and ideas for making TenU’s activities more relevant for the tech transfer community are therefore much welcome!