Managing the Business of Science

The UK's University College London Business is a unique technology-transfer company that manages the institution's research portfolio, The Chronicle of Higher Education reports. While some of the hundreds of projects the firm manages are profitable for the university, others may take many years before they make money. Some may never make a profit for the school at all. But the director of the business unit says that profits are not the "holy grail." University College London Business, which generated revenues of about $21.7 million last year, helps researchers get proof-of-concept grants and licenses for their inventions, focusing on those that have "societal and economic benefits," according to the Chronicle. The firm's portfolio blends "financially profitable and socially relevant" projects by design. The Chronicle adds that this approach could serve as a model for American universities looking to profit from technology transfer and promote their local economies at the same time.