International cooperation
Through its activities, the Ljubljana University Incubator (LUI) follows the goals of the University of Ljubljana, which consist in stimulating other forms of knowledge transfer such as, for example, the setting up of new detached spin-offs or other corporate bodies, the establishing of which is based on implementation and use of university rights regarding intellectual property.
Thus, LUI carries out the mission of connecting the academic and economic spheres. Moreover, LUI stimulates the business culture and the setting up of new enterprises with high added value among young people, students, pedagogical workers and researchers.
With this purpose in mind, LUI collaborated in 2008 on the project ‘Stimulating entrepreneurship through spin-offs in Slovenia, co-financed by the Flemish government.
LUI has consequently introduced to Slovenia from its Flemish partners- Business Incubator Innotek and KHK College – a wealth of knowledge on how to stimulate and assist in the setting up of spin-offs.
The project is composed of three phases: the promotion and detection of opportunities for new spin-offs; the scanning or ascertainment of spin-off potential and, finally, the coaching and mentoring of business ideas deemed to have significant prospects.
In the first half of 2008 (from January to May), research was carried out on how the Flemish model can be adapted to conditions prevailing in Slovenia. Ljubljana, as a capital city, has, with its environment and the biggest University in Central Europe great potential for rapid growth in terms of University spin-offs. On the other hand, current Slovenian legislation does not yet enable this kind of enterprise to be set up. Considerable effort is still required with respect to stimulating students and researchers to start their own business, as well as in creating examples of good practice that will be able to show how, in spite of the as yet unadjusted legislation, these enterprises can be set up.
On the 13th of May LUI launched the project Enterprising Researchers. The goal of the project is to stimulate University researchers to consider, at the very beginning of their studies the possibility of putting business ideas into practice in the form of University spin-offs.
The project has been intensely promoted with the help of Faculty Coordinators, through LUI newsletters, through the Association of Young Researchers, through the LUI web page and at numerous other events.
The project Enterprising Researchers is divided into two main modules. The first is intended to provide basic business knowledge, while the purpose of the second is to help prepare a business plan and work towards the market realization of promising ideas by setting up a University spin-off. The project was carried out four times in 2008, resulting in the identification of 2 ideas or possibilities for a spin off that have subsequently gone through all the phases.
In order to raise business awareness in the academic environment, 2008 also saw the organization of events - VIP nights - and a student tournament in Innovative Journalism. Furthermore, we have also created a LUI group on Facebook, started to overhaul our web page and shot a promotional video clip.
With the goal of further clarifying the obstacles to setting up university spin-offs in Slovenia, a round table with international participation took place in November, during which guests shared and elucidated experiences and practice from their own countries of origin.
The identification of the possibilities of setting up spin-offs therefore took place in various ways: through the aforementioned project Enterprising Researchers; through the LUI information center and through workshops whose focus was ‘How to Write a Business Plan’.
In total, 23 ideas could be set up as a university spin off. The spin-off potential has been measured by means of the Spin-off Scan instrument, developed for our partner Innotek by Merit (Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology, linked with the University of Maastricht). Results of the scanning process are shown in the graph, which in turn indicates spin-off potential as assessed from three important viewpoints: the nature of the spin-off business team (knowledge and other resources); the support the spin off gets from its home institution (source for knowledge and other resources), and the spin-off project itself (investment needed and risks).
Slovenian Co-partner – The University of Ljubljana has used the tool for spin-off potential for evaluation of the inventions disclosed by its employees. The total number of evaluated ideas in 2008 was 14, of which 3 ideas/inventions are considered to have serious spin-off potential. The University of Ljubljana is actively encouraging the scientists/researchers to try and establish a spin-off business entity based on the aforementioned patent-pending inventions.
In 2008 coaching was offered to the 14 projects.
6 enterprises have subsequently been set up.
It is important to highlight the fact that the aforementioned projects cannot be considered university spin-offs in the true sense of the word, since Slovenian legislation does not – as yet - allow the home institution (the University) to participate in the ownership of the spin-off.
// arhiv dogodkovTrenutno ni dogodka v arhivu!
Enterprising researchers 
