Varsity has investigated Cambridge’s growing ambitions to increase the commercialisation of research as the government draws up plans to “unleash the potential of the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor.”

Schemes such as Cambridge Enterprise and the development of the West Cambridge campus have encouraged a greater commercialisation of research, leading Cambridge to produce more valuable spinouts than any other European university, according to Dealroom.

Cambridge Enterprise is a subsidiary of the University, designed to “[help] innovators, experts and entrepreneurs use commercial avenues to develop their ideas and expertise for the benefit of society, the economy, themselves and the University,” as described by their website.

This is done through helping researchers identify Intellectual Property (IP), patent IP, invest in IP through their various funds and connect researchers to the broader University and commercial networks. Most of the research Cambridge Enterprise helps commercialise is in science and technology.

So far, Cambridge Enterprise has invested £43 million in over 150 companies, including Gyroscope, BlueGnome, VocalIQ, Carbon Re, and Colorifix.

A spokesperson for Colorifix, which has developed a biological process to replace the use of harmful chemicals used in dyes, told Varsity: “Cambridge Enterprise has been an extremely supportive investor for Colorifix, participating in all rounds from Seed to Series B.”

Dr Diarmuid O’Brien, pro-vice-chancellor of Innovation and ex-CEO of Cambridge Enterprise, told Varsity that commercialisation plays an important role in large-scale science and technology projects because, “You can’t do that kind of research at that scale within a university environment.”

Cambridge Enterprise also takes lower equity stakes in its investments of Cambridge spinouts, as “the primary goal is really about how do we make sure that the incredible ideas and research that’s happening within the university have a chance to bridge out to make that social impact for society.”

“Unlike other institutions, Cambridge does not try to maximise its monetary return […] In fact, it’s almost the opposite: our goal is to try and support as many new companies [to] get formed as possible, and to help them raise the capital they need to be successful,” O’Brien continued.

This was confirmed by Dr Daniel Summerbell, the co-founder of Carbon Re, a start-up aimed at decarbonising cement and steel. He told Varsity that his experience with Cambridge Enterprise has been “very positive” compared to more traditional Venture Capital (VC) funds.

He said: “Where the main benefit has been compared to other VCs is that [Cambridge Enterprise] believed in the company, and the research behind it, earlier than anyone else.”

“Their confidence encouraged other investors to join the round and meant that we were able to raise far more capital than just the amount that Cambridge Ventures put in. It’s also nice to know that if the business is successful and returns money to investors that it will be going to fund the University that supported the research in the first place,” Summerbell added.

While Cambridge Enterprise has already supported a lot of promising work, O’Brien told Varsity there are ambitions to go further. Speaking about the commercialisation of research on a national level, he said: “We are often too comfortable in our approach and so we don’t see a lot of companies fail. And actually, we should be seeing more fail because if people are being ambitious in what they’re trying to do then […] some things just won’t work.”

Part of the plan to realise Cambridge’s ambitions revolves around the expansion of the West Cambridge campus: a 66-hectare site focused on science and technology and designed to incorporate the private sector.

The campus is already home to the recently completed Ray Dolby Centre, the largest and most expensive natural science building project completed by a leading university in recent years. The £50 million New Whittle Lab is also due to open on the campus shortly.

Other plans for West Cambridge include “Growth Hubs” and an “Innovation Space” to support start-ups and spinouts.

O’Brien described the campus as an “incredible opportunity” to have “globally leading companies in climate, tech, quantum, and AI, all co-located on that campus beside our research facilities.”

He added: “We can really then collectively partner on how we can use those technologies to impact some of the great problems of the world.”

Cambridge’s growing ambitions coincide with the government drawing up plans to link Oxford and Cambridge with the hope it will add £78 billion to the British economy.

Daniel Zeichner, the MP for Cambridge, told Varsity that: “The government sees Cambridge as an important driver of the UK’s economic growth, innovation and global competitiveness […] The government is backing Cambridge’s growth with targeted investment, including £10m for housing and Environment Agency approval for 4,500 new homes.”

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said in a recent speech that the Oxford-Cambridge arc would create “Europe’s Silicon Valley,” but O’Brien is hesitant to make such a comparison.

“Although [Silicon Valley] have built an incredible technological environment, they have created a large social disenfranchised environment too,” which O’Brien argues has led to the “decay of a really great city”.

“It’s really important that development happens in a way that is inclusive and that it actually builds new communities, not just new houses,” he continued.

Instead, O’Brien is keen to replicate the kind of success seen in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which has access to high levels of venture capital funding, a high density of talent and a supportive entrepreneurial culture.

In response to the increase of commercialisation of research at Cambridge, some academics are worried that it may lead to less focus on forms of research that are not commercially viable, in both the humanities and the sciences.

Professor John Marenbon, a philosopher and Fellow of Trinity College, told Varsity that “there’s a great danger” in “the latest attempts to think of Cambridge as a place which is going to be central to ideas of making the British economy grow.”

He added: “One shouldn’t think of it as just a worry for humanities […] in the sciences the worry could be that the very nature of research could be changed to research which is aimed at short-term benefits and short-term outcomes”.

But O’Brien is confident that this will not be the case: “I’d be really disappointed if we didn’t find a way to balance that focus. I mean Cambridge is an institution that values and has excellence in research right across all of its schools and I think that has to be the vision for the future.”

“It’s also a real mistake to think that the research that takes place there and the training of our graduates that takes place in our humanities and social sciences, doesn’t connect to this agenda; there’s lots of people who are needed in the economy of the future which are not technical people,” he continued.

Lord Martin Rees, the ex-master of Trinity, told Varsity that he is not concerned about the increase in commercialisation of research at Cambridge, but does worry that “most of the long-term benefit [of commercial research] has not gone to this country because of [an] early sellout.”

He is also concerned that “academia [is] becoming less attractive as a profession because of financial squeezes.”

“Life as a young academic is getting more precarious,” Rees argues, which is deterring talented students from pursuing research. He believes that “the University is in a position to bang on and have some influence” over national policy to change this.

In response, a spokesperson for the University said: “Cambridge has a proud history of excellence right across academic disciplines. Our people produce research that furthers knowledge and improves lives all over the world. Emphasising the University’s role as an engine for growth does not mean other aspects of research impact are not important.”

“Talented people are our greatest asset, and we are talking to the Government about ways to increase funding for early career researchers. The Trinity Cambridge Research Studentships were recently launched, with the goal of achieving £50m of funding for new PhD students,” they continued.