Matt Freeman: Why the future of university commercialisation is less about spinning out and more about spinning with

In this episode, we meet Matt Freeman, Centre Director at FutureSpace, the University of the West of England's innovation centre, where he works to bring academia and industry together to drive innovation and business growth.

Matt's perspective is shaped by having lived on both sides of the divide, a decade as an academic, a university spinout founder, and now leading an innovation centre that embeds high-tech businesses into the heart of a university campus.

He shares how he came to see commercialisation as a behaviour change challenge, not a knowledge problem, how FutureSpace packages up the university assets into products and services businesses actually need, and why he believes the future is less about spinning out and more about spinning with.

We also explore the book he's writing on the translation gap, why the same questions are being asked by academia and industry and what it takes to facilitate effective collaborations.

This episode is essential listening for anyone working at the interface between universities and industry.