Browsing by Author "Uotila, Iiro"

Evolving societies force universities to transform from the producers of new information sat in their ivory towers towards the role of entrepreneurial universities. The theme of entrepreneurial universities is widely studied internationally, but studies concerning the University of Helsinki (UH) are scarce. The aim of this thesis is to map the current UH bioentrepreneurship ecosystem and the services it provides. The services were mapped and assessed based on how they match the needs of academic bioentrepreneurs. Measures are also suggested on how to develop the ecosystem. This thesis links strongly to the previous literature on entrepreneurial universities and academic entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial university as a term encompasses an organisation, which strongly supports and encompasses entrepreneurial action in its different functions. Strong technology transfer and commercialization of research via licensing and spinout company formation, is usually linked to entrepreneurial universities. University spinouts are strongly linked to academic entrepreneurship. In spinouts research results and academic tacit knowledge are transformed into enterprises to produce value. The thesis was conducted as a qualitative case study. For the study UH affiliated entities offering entrepreneurship services and bioentrepreneurs originating from within the university were interviewed. The data was analysed with content analysis methods. The results show that UH bioentrepreneurship ecosystem is just in the beginning with multiple useful services but also with some significant flaws. The most significant obstacles preventing the growth of the ecosystem are the university’s negative culture towards entrepreneurship, non-existent communication about the subject and the absence of relevant supportive networks for academic entrepreneurs. Via changing these the critical mass to enable sustainable ecosystem can be achieved.