In October last year, I had the privilege of becoming Oxford’s Univeristy’s 296th vice-chancellor following three decades working in universities in the United States, including Yale, where I was Provost from 2004 to 2008.

I came to Oxford at a challenging time. The higher education sector is not immune to the global economic downturn, and the university is no exception. However, it continues to bring economic benefits to the region.

For example, the collegiate University and Oxford University Press are the second largest employer in the county, supporting more than 18,000 jobs. They inject £750m a year into the regional economy.

The university also makes a major contribution to Oxfordshire’s growth rate in high-tech jobs, which, despite the downturn, still remains one of the highest in the UK.

It does this through ‘technology transfer’, the commercialisation of the intellectual property arising from its research. Oxford spends a larger amount on research than any other UK university: last year’s total was £451m.

Isis Innovation is the university’s wholly owned technology transfer company. It works with Oxford researchers to develop their inventions into marketable products and services.

Isis has spun out 64 companies since 1997, and files approximately one patent application every week. The university is also one of the most prolific creators of intellectual property in the UK — not far behind companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, BT and Unilever.

Despite the downturn, the revenues achieved by Isis exceeded £5.6m in 2009, an increase of 18 per cent over the previous year.

The combined value of Oxford’s spin-outs has reached more than £2bn. The first, Oxford Instruments, was established more than 50 years ago and is now a global leader in high-tech industry tools and systems.

Others include Organox, which commercialises a device for preserving organs outside the body in transplants; the Oxford Emergent Tuberculosis Consortium, which is commercialising the world’s most clinically advanced TB vaccine and Intelligent Sustainable Energy, which develops super smart electricity metering technology.

The university’s spin-out companies find a home at Begbroke Science Park, where entrepreneurs work alongside scientists.

The park hosts numerous innovation and enterprise initiatives and provides a space where academic theory is converted into business practice, by nurturing-up-and-coming science-based industries.

The university has established a Challenge Seed Fund, which plays an important role in funding promising technology projects.

Last year, the fund approved nine projects with a total commitment of more than £600,000. One such beneficiary was Oxford Yasa Motors, which will take lightweight electric motors developed at the university’s Department of Engineering Science to commercial markets.

The university supports innovation in other ways. The Oxford Innovation Society brings together industrial partners with university researchers to network and share ideas in the setting of one of Oxford’s colleges.

The university’s Regional Liaison Office promotes local business activity, including Venturefest, Oxfordshire’s annual fair for high-tech entrepreneurs, and Oxford at Saïd — twice-termly seminars that bring academics and business people together at the Saïd Business School.

Oxford Entrepreneurs has more than 4,500 student members, which is the largest free business and entrepreneurship society in Europe.

These are just a few examples of how the university is innovating and supporting innovation. Not only is it teaching some of the brightest minds that then go on to improve and influence society worldwide, but it is also playing a crucial part in supporting the growth of high-tech businesses, which are essential to the knowledge economy of the 21st century.

o This page is co-ordinated by Oxford Innovation, www.oxin.co.uk