University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), one of the best known universities in the country, has long been noted for record-setting athletics and renowned academic programs. In recent times, though, the university has earned gained even more impressive credentials due to its campus research.
The research conducted on UCLA’s campus is nothing new; it has been long been noted within the scientific and business communities, but it has given way to an impressive new ranking that has the business world buzzing, particularly within the city of Los Angeles. UCLA, it turns out, has more startups launched on its campus than any other university in the country.
In its report, the Milken Institute, an independent economic think tank based in Santa Monica, California, credits UCLA’s record-setting innovation to the university’s ability to commercialize campus research. In a press release dated April 20, 2017, UCLA proudly announced that it was ranked number 1 in the country when it comes to the number of startup companies launched as a result of campus research. The report also ranks UCLA number 15 in the country in the area of commercializing university technology.
The Milken Institute report was last published in 2006, and UCLA has moved up in the ranking by 30 spots since then. The data used in the report was provided by the Association of University Technology Matters, which conducted an annual licensing activity survey. In this survey, the association used four-year averages for four primary indicators of success in transferring technology. These indicators were patents issues, licenses issued, licensing income and startups formed.
The numbers do not lie. In the three years between 2012 and 2015, an average of 96 patents and 31 licenses were issued annually to UCLA. Each year saw an average licensing revenue of $38.5 million dollars earned. In addition, 19 startup companies were formed on the campus during each year on average, totaling almost 60 startups.
The university’s research department doesn’t show any signs of slowing down either. The figures are steadily rising, largely due to the early stage marketing efforts of the UCLA Technology Development Group, which has been working hard to identify the potential and marketability of the university’s research. This past fiscal year saw an increase in every area with 121 patents issued along with 114 new licenses, while the licensing revenue climbed to $65.9 million. It also saw the launch of 21 new startups.
“Technology transfer is an important part of the research process,” Bob Nidever told TUN. Nidever is Digital Communications and Marketing Manager of the UCLA Technology Development Group.
[It] helps to bring discoveries made in the lab to the marketplace.
And that certainly seems to be true.
While these startups benefit the public in the sense that they provide valuable products and services to the public, they have also played in an important role in the city’s economic development with the jobs they have created. A snapshot of the numbers provided in the press release is impressive. “A 2013 economic impact study produced by UCLA found that UCLA startups created more than 4,400 jobs resulting in $295 million in employee compensation and $108 million in federal, state and local tax revenue annually, and contributed a total of $1.1 billion to the economy each year.”
Given the steadily rising figures of UCLA’s research commercialization efforts, it seems likely that we can expect more startups that would benefit the university and the city. Was it expected that the university’s campus research efforts and technology development would prove to be such a boon to its community and economy? We’re not sure, but the widespread positive effects are undeniable.
