Small Innovative Enterprises of Universities

The article analyzes the formation and operation of small innovative enterprises, established by Russian universities in the context of the technology platforms program, implemented in Russia and based on the experience of the developed countries. Facilitating the commercialization of university research activities by providing them with the right to set up small innovative businesses is a new phenomenon for Russia. This state program has been implemented since 2010 with legal and financial support from the government, the goal being the cooperation between universities, academic and industrial research institutions with industry. Established by universities, small enterprises are to serve as a link between research carried out at universities and manufacturers of innovative products; besides, the university innovative enterprises are to shift scientific products into innovative production. Taking the statistics of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation and the experts’ analysis as the basis for the research, the authors consider the challenges of setting up a university innovative enterprise, their non-uniform geographic distribution, excessive dependence on the state budget, insufficient involvement in the competitive market environment, serious bureaucratic and financial obstacles to their productive functioning. A large-scale study, carried out by the authors, shows that, in general, from 2011 to 2015 the performance of university innovative enterprises did not become profitable and what’s more, a third of them had to declare bankruptcy. The article considers the reasons for the failure of university innovative enterprises to meet the expectations entrusted by their founders, as well as it considers their development potential.