The Survey of Commercialisation Outcomes from Public Research (SCOPR) 2021 report (released in 2022) by Knowledge Commercialisation Australasia found the University to have the highest commercialisation revenue out of the 49 publicly funded research institutions across Australia and New Zealand that participated in the survey.

The report found the University to have the second-most active start-ups and spinouts, as well as the second-highest number of intellectual property licences, options and assignments out of all participating institutions.

“I’m very pleased we’re being recognised for the high quality of our research and innovation system,” said Andy Shenk, CEO of UniServices, the commercialisation and research impact company of Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland. “It’s a valuable comparison for us because many of the Australian universities we’re compared to have substantially greater resources to draw upon.”

“The report shows that Auckland punches above its weight,” said UniServices Executive Director of Commercialisation Will Charles. “We’re one of the largest producers of impact per research dollar of all research organisations in Australasia.”

This is the second year the University has participated in the SCOPR survey. The report showed Auckland was above average in the number of new start-ups and spinouts as well as in the value of research contracts from for-profit companies.

“The start-ups launched each year is a number we’d like to see go up but the high number of active start-ups we’ve got means they’re good quality; they’re not just companies that come and go,” said Charles.

Shenk said the report shows more broadly that publicly funded research has a significant effect on the economy.

“Directed research that focuses on an identified need is often very productive in terms of the translation of that work into the desired outcomes,” said Shenk. “Moreover, new discovery and new knowledge can often result in benefits we might not have been targeting, that we might not even have expected.”