This year, OUI marked the creation of the 200^th spinout to emerge from Oxford University with the spinning out of PhishAR.

By utilising augmented reality techniques, the spinout can help individuals quickly identify emails looking to phish them for details which can be used to hack people and organisations. In isolation, PhishAR has the potential to be an exciting cybersecurity AR-driven company which could save companies and individuals untold millions from scammers. In the wider context of the Physical Sciences team, it is yet another example of how broad the team’s remit is.

Unlike the Life Sciences team, which by definition has a biological focus, the volume of sectors and disciplines the Physical Sciences team cover is vast. Many of our most prolific departments for innovation – Chemistry, Physics, Engineering, Computer Sciences, to name a few – all fall into the team’s remit. In addition, the team also supports the burgeoning commercialisation activity within Oxford’s Humanities and Social Sciences divisions, which has in recent years given rise to OUI’s support mechanisms for social ventures; an activity that complements the team’s support for the OUI Incubator. That is three quarters of the University, plus our entrepreneur support at OUI, all under one group. It is so big that three features in this report fall under Physical Sciences.

However, the main focus for the team over the past few months has been COVID-19. Aside from our collective desire to approach the pandemic head on and turn Oxford research into technologies we can bring to bear on the disease, OUI has been particularly motivated by the impact coronavirus has had on one of the most beloved members of OUI, Jamie Ferguson, Deputy Head of Physical Sciences.

Jamie contracted COVID-19 in March and, despite a long battle, tragically passed during the writing of this report.

“Jamie has been a great leader and mentor, and you can see that from his team and how well they work together,” said Brendan Ludden, Head of Physical Sciences. “It’s absolutely clear how much influence he’s had, and how his fight with COVID-19 has inspired the entire company to redouble our efforts on combatting the pandemic.”

Spinouts with Impact

The team have quickly pushed through two spinouts – OxVent and OxSed – in a matter of weeks to begin having impact. In contrast, most spinouts take months, if not years, before they are ready for incorporation. OxVent is a social enterprise conceived jointly with Kings College London, offering cost-effective ventilators for treatment of COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases.

“The thing that still strikes me at OUI is that everyone is here for the impact – they are here because they care,” said Brendan. “These are all exceptionally talented people who are good at the tech, and everything related to it. In our work, anything can come through the door and we have to deal with it.”

This influx of ideas of from across sectors plus an ingrained sense of collaboration and teamwork, both within the group and across the company, has made Physical Sciences one of the most dynamic and innovative groups within OUI.

Collaboration and Teamwork

The overhaul of the Incubator and StEP, detailed in elsewhere in this report, has been driven largely by Incubator head Cath Spence, Brendan and Jamie. The results have led to a sharp increase in projects in the Incubator, startups incorporated, and student teams forming new companies. The work of the social ventures team has offered an entirely new route to innovation which has resonated particularly with the Humanities and Social Sciences Divisions, while also implementing a new lean spinout option to get ideas out faster.

“The lean spinout model is an organic way of growing a company,” said Chandra Ramanujan, Senior Licensing & Ventures Manager “By opting for this route, we can get companies out without too much fuss and it means more equity for the founders. It’s a nice way to start the company if it’s possible.”

That innovation also applies within OUI itself. Much of the internal systems innovation has been either led or had assistance from Adrian Coles, Senior Licensing and Ventures Manager. One of his earlier initiatives, an online software store for OUI, has now brought in 350 licences. More recently, he has been focused on how we can better manage and utilise data within OUI.

“The way we’re adapting to use data helps us make better decisions,” explained Adrian, who led on our PowerBI data management platform, allowing the company to track and access information related to deal flow and performance, as well as being a key player in implementing our new CRM, Atlas. “It’s a time of constant change, and I’ve been impressed how many of us have been able to adapt and make use of these new platforms.”

“Adrian’s work has has had positive impact by developing our data and bringing it into how we do business,” added Brendan. “Both PowerBI and the imminent introduction of our Atlas CRM system are opening up a whole new set of capabilities and opportunities for OUI.”