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Coventry University strengthens innovation support by adopting national spin-out guidelines
Thursday 19 June 2025
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New national guidelines designed to make it easier for researchers to turn their ideas into successful businesses have been fully adopted by Coventry University.
This pivotal move builds directly on the momentum generated by the groundbreaking DigiSpinWM program, setting a new standard for researcher-led commercialisation.
This strategic decision follows the UK Government’s Independent Review of University Spin-out Companies, embracing its best practice framework for university engagement with academic founders.
These new guidelines introduce critical improvements for turning groundbreaking ideas into successful ventures, including clearer guidance on equity, faster decision-making, and more consistent support.
In response, Coventry is proactively overhauling its spin-out approach to meet national expectations head-on. We're removing bottlenecks, clarifying founder pathways, and creating more flexible, transparent equity guidance. These changes are designed to ensure spin-out activity is not only highly responsive to investor and founder needs but also strategically positioned to deliver economic value at scale.
Founders and investors now benefit from unprecedented clarity on spin-out processes, supported by robust internal training and stronger collaboration with regional partners. This collective effort is rapidly building a more connected and dynamic regional innovation ecosystem.
Building on Proven Success: The DigiSpinWM Programme
The formal adoption of these national guidelines is a powerful evolution of the work pioneered through the DigiSpinWM programme.
This highly successful six-month pilot, funded by Research England and led by Coventry University in collaboration with Birmingham City University and the University of Wolverhampton, all founding partners of the West Midlands Combined Universities, served as a vital testbed for these innovative approaches.
The programme created a unique space to test and co-develop practical solutions for more agile, inclusive spin-out creation, culminating in the DigiSpinWM Code of Principles – a pioneering guide now actively shaping best practice across the West Midlands.
The programme specifically targeted improvements in the creation and support of spin-out companies, with a sharp focus on advanced manufacturing and digital innovation. Its achievements included testing new approaches to company ownership, deal agreements, and founder involvement.
During this intensive period, over 40 spin-out projects received direct support, providing invaluable insights that have refined spin-out activity across the region.
Driving the Future: Leadership Perspectives
We want researchers to feel confident about taking their ideas and work further – and that starts with a clear and fair process for spin-outs. By adopting these recommendations, we’re making it easier and more attractive for academic teams to explore commercial opportunities – with more transparency on equity and stronger support throughout. It’s a significant step forward and one that powerfully builds on what we’ve learned through DigiSpinWM.
Professor Richard Dashwood, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Coventry University
We know the spin-out journey has often been more complicated than it needs to be – for founders and for partners. This has been a chance to step back, look carefully at how we work and make real, tangible improvements to how spin-outs are created and supported. These changes are about making our offer clearer, our processes faster, and our region undeniably more attractive to innovators and investors.
Professor Paul Noon, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise and Innovation), Coventry University
DigiSpinWM has given us the space to fundamentally rethink how we support spin-out creation, not just in terms of speed and clarity, but in how we centre the founder experience and work collaboratively across institutions. Our adoption of the Spin-out Review principles isn’t just a policy shift, it’s a powerful reflection of the vibrant ecosystem we’ve been building and the ambition we have for what comes next.
Albi Lamaj, IP Associate Director at Coventry University, DigiSpinWM Principal Investigator
Coventry University proudly joins a growing list of leading universities formally adopting these national recommendations, signalling a shared, unwavering commitment to unlocking the full innovation potential across the UK’s academic sector.
Find out more about DigiSpinWM.
