Patents and startups: How KU turns curiosity and creativity into innovation

KU is a leader in economic impact, especially when it comes to entrepreneurship. This year, the National Academy of Inventers ranked KU in the top 40 public universities to grant patents for inventions — the fourth consecutive year the university was listed among the top 100. In 2025, 40 new inventions propelled KU into 39^th place, and the university currently has nearly 60 active startup companies founded from Jayhawk research and inventions. Those companies and inventions include Icorium, a start-up founded in recycling refrigerants research, and an ammunition design with an aerodynamic center that can right and steady itself in flight.

“Entrepreneurship is a critical part of the university’s value proposition back to our students and in the state of Kansas,” Anderson said. “KU has a responsibility to contribute to the economic and workforce development in the state, and entrepreneurship is one critical way in which we do that.”

Access to entrepreneurship education is an important way for the university to create impact, and that access will expand with the opening of the Entrepreneurship Hub, slated for fall 2027. The Hub will provide a space where students, regardless of discipline, can seek entrepreneurial opportunities, all in one space. About 70% of students participating in entrepreneurship are outside the business school; adding a dedicated space for interdisciplinary ideation is invaluable.

“Our hope in the new Entrepreneurship Hub is that we’ll be able to serve exponentially more students, more faculty, more staff and have more conversations around entrepreneurship in these next few years,” Anderson said.

Anderson said there are four key skill sets that are necessary for students’ success in entrepreneurship: a sense of self, curiosity, creativity and business acumen. Students, from engineering to music, have opportunities to learn and foster these skills, as well as create patents and businesses right here at KU. These entrepreneurial skills make them stand out in their fields.

“We build an entrepreneurial competency such that should the opportunity to be a founder emerge, students are willing to say yes,” Anderson said. “That also doesn’t preclude students from being entrepreneurial inside big companies, universities, governments or nonprofits. Every entity needs entrepreneurship.”

If you want to support innovation and ideation at KU, reach out to David Byrd-Stadler, assistant vice president, Lawrence development, at [email protected] or 785-832-7308.