University of Michigan releases innovation statistics for FY 2013

University of Michigan Office of Technology Transfer Director Ken Nisbet has released some innovation metrics for the university’s fiscal year which closed in June. Researchers in all fields reported 421 new inventions during the 2013 fiscal year, beating last fiscal year’s record number of 368.

Nine startups were created through the Office of Technology Transfer’s Venture Accelerator in 2013, which is about the average over the past decade.

The office helped license 108 inventions in 2013, down from 123 last year, and the university’s licensing revenue from the inventions increased to $14.4 million in FY 13, up $600k year-over-year.

Still missing from details released by tech transfer offices is IP valuation data. At annual AUTM (Association of University Technology Managers) meetings there is considerable discussion about valuation, including annual certification seminars, yet those additional metrics have yet to find their way into the mainstream. We await the day when “what’s it worth?” replaces “how many?”  as the primary university invention licensing metric.