The inaugural Ignition Schools list, presented by Inc. and Fast Company, recognizes 50 academic institutions worldwide that have the greatest impact on entrepreneurship and innovation. These schools produce intellectual property, partnerships, and people who shape the future of business and society.
Academia played a significant role in helping Inc. find its voice and mission when it was founded in 1979. At the time, small business ownership was not celebrated, but MIT director David Birch made the bold claim that small and new businesses created the majority of new jobs in the U.S.
In the 1970s and early ’80s, Stanford, MIT, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison began formalizing tech transfer offices (TTOs) to transfer university-driven IP rights to commercial ventures.
The Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 allowed universities to retain IP rights from federally funded research, and the NIH launched the Small Business Innovation Research program in 1982 to foster collaboration between universities and small businesses. In the 21st century, TTOs and university-based spinout companies have yielded massive successes, including Google, Moderna therapeutics, and the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.
recognizing innovative academic institutions
The Biden administration continued to support tech transfer momentum in 2022 by passing legislation that invested $280 billion into R&D for semiconductors and other high-tech ventures. “University research is really changing the world,” says Stephen J. Susalka, CEO of AUTM.
“However, not all research can make the leap to the products and services of tomorrow.” AUTM works to foster new successes by providing IP suited for small and medium-sized businesses to develop. The Ignition Schools list accounts for factors such as tech transfer activity, licensing, venture capital support, and the number of alumni who have founded successful businesses. Fast Company and Inc.
are sharing stories behind some of the schools and people making the biggest waves in entrepreneurship, celebrating the universities that have made entrepreneurship and innovation the twin engines powering the most successful economies in the world. Notable mentions among the schools include MIT, Stanford, and UC Berkeley, which lead in venture capital raising and startup developments. These institutions exemplify the dynamic interface between academia and the commercial world, spearheading innovations that have a profound, ripple effect on society.
- Inc.”Ignition Schools: Top 50 Institutions Revolutionizing Entrepreneurship”.
- FastCompany.”The 50 colleges and universities making an outsize impact on business and society”.
- FastCompany.”Ignition Schools 2024: Our methodology”.