UMd. system spurs 187 new companies from research, report says

Officials consider a new investment fund to encourage more startups

 

 Sarah Gantz 

Reporter- Baltimore Business Journal

University System of Maryland increased the number of new companies formed out of university technology by 29 percent in fiscal 2013 and is aiming to keep up the pace this year.

The university system credits the growth in new businesses in part to its heightened focus on entrepreneurship and transforming university research to commercial technology. Assistant Vice Chancellor for Information Technology Suresh Balakrishnan said the university system will look to continue adding new companies by looking for new ways to support startups, such as an investment fund.

“We’ve been putting in place a number of initiatives to bolster what I’d call the internal ecosystem and now we’re focusing a little more on the external ecosystem,” Balakrishnan said.

Read full article here from The Baltimore Business Journal