Enterprise and entrepreneurship are at the heart of innovation at Swansea University. As a research-intensive institution, our vision is to be a leading global university that is renowned for empowering individuals to create a positive change in the world through enterprise, innovation, partnership, knowledge exchange, and transformative community engagement. We seek to create a lasting legacy of impact and added value that enriches the lives of individuals and communities, now and in the future.
Swansea University’s Enterprise Strategy 2023-28 guides the growth of its entrepreneurial and commercial activities, and enables changes to its operational structures with strong alignment to recommendations given in the Independent Review of University Spinout Companies (published Nov 2023) .
Our university punches far above its weight when it comes to entrepreneurial activity, ranking 9th in the UK on the 2024 Spotlight on Spinouts report by Beauhurst, creating over 60 spinouts since the beginning of 2011. These companies have successfully raised £51.9m of capital via 65 different funding rounds.
In response to the Independent Review of University Spinout Companies (2023), and following the findings of an external review we commissioned into our own spinout portfolio and governance framework, Swansea is currently updating its policies and processes with the goal of substantively adopting the recommendations of the review. Whilst already aligned to the deal terms of the spinout review and USIT guide, our update aims to achieve greater efficiency and improved timeframes through better guidance as well as more transparency and openness in processes. We aim to adopt standardised terms through a framework approach, giving guidance on situations where things may differ. In line with the USIT guide, we always consider each opportunity on its individual merits and as an overall deal not just focussed on any one aspect such as equity.
To read more about Swansea’s success in creating Spin-outs, you can see more data in Beauhurst’s 2024 spotlight on spinouts.
