Comment from Adam Stoten, chief operating officer at Oxford University Innovation.
2020 started in relatively normal fashion for Oxford University Innovation (OUI), the tech transfer office of University of Oxford. The upheaval of Brexit and the general election were behind us – or perhaps at least the most acute psychological trauma – and there were signs that markets and investors were also feeling more positive. While there were some interesting reports of a new virus emerging in China, the prevailing assumption was that it would remain a localised issue, unlikely ever to reach these shores. Nothing to worry about.
How things change. Barely three months later and the world had turned upside down, or at least had gone into a state of paralysis never seen before.
Like any business that was able to keep operating during the pandemic, our initial priorities revolved around transitioning to remote working and managing the anxieties of employees who were faced with a raft…
