Seminar: Understanding the University’s Approach to Spinout Companies, 10th August, 1pm
When: Thursday 10th of August, 1pm AEST
Where: This seminar will be partially presented at the Rose Street Seminar area (J04) and partially online via Zoom. RSVP
Speaker: Dr Andrew Tindell
Title: Understanding the University’s Approach to Spinout Companies
Abstract:
Spinouts are companies based on academic research generated within and owned by the University. Founding a university spinout can be an appropriate approach to commercialising intellectual property when there is no existing business to approach about the new IP, or because the technology has clear potential to generate many products and engage multiple sectors. This seminar will outline the University’s approach to supporting spinouts. It will refer to the University’s intellectual property policy, invention disclosure process, determination of IP ownership, evaluation, protection – especially through patenting – and principal commercial terms for licensing to spin-off companies. Support for a spinout often includes granting of rights to university owned IP in exchange for an equity stake (i.e., shares) in a spinout. Approaches to agreeing equity stakes will be explained and other types of support that spin-off company founders can access through the University will be discussed.
Bio:
Andrew is currently Principal Enterprise Officer at the University of Sydney. Andrew has a proven track record of profitably running and growing a number of businesses in the UK and Australia as CEO and Director level. He has extensive operational experience and programme management experience. He also has many years experience of contract negotiation including renegotiation of poorly performing contracts. He has had significant experience in M&A having acquired several businesses and integrated them successfully into the existing business. He has run businesses with up to 1000 staff and annual turnover of in excess of $250M. Since 2013 Andrew has held senior roles at The University of Sydney, initially as Director of the Research, Grants and Contracts team, from March 2014 as Director of Commercial Development and Industry Partnerships, from November 2019 as Executive Director, Research Operations and from August 2022 as Principal Enterprise Officer. Andrew has been instrumental in increasing the level of commercialisation and industry engagement in the University of Sydney which currently has 47 active startup companies.