What if academic institutions became true incubators of innovation, where learners and educators are empowered to bring bold ideas to life? Where research, faculty, and students are free to challenge boundaries and redefine academia’s impact?
In many ways, this vision clashes with the rigid structures of today's universities, where innovation is often stifled by an obsession with grants, publications, and rankings. The traditional system, designed to uphold established norms, inadvertently curtails the very creativity it should champion.
Intrapreneurship, a concept borrowed from the corporate world, offers a powerful solution.
First coined by Gifford Pinchot in 1985, intrapreneurship is about turning ideas into action within established organizations. From Richard Montañez, who transformed Frito-Lay with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, to Ken Kutaragi, who revolutionized gaming with Sony’s PlayStation, intrapreneurs have reshaped industries. From Gmail’s rise at Google to Anjali Sud’s leadership at Vimeo, intrapreneurs have proven that innovation thrives when organizations embrace bold ideas.
Now, universities must first embrace this mindset to foster the kind of change that can drive impactful innovation. Unfortunately, many universities remain entrenched in outdated systems, governed by the “publish or perish” mentality, where research quantity is prioritized over creative, transformative ideas.
As seen with the Times Higher Education rankings, which allocate nearly 60% of their score to research output, the focus on publication volume often sidelines the bold, disruptive thinking needed to push academia forward. The gap between academic research and real-world application is thus striking.
Groundbreaking research too often remains locked in academic journals, disconnected from practical impact. This is where intrapreneurship can infuse new life into academia, offering a framework to turn theoretical insights into actionable solutions.
Universities like Cambridge and MIT have shown how embracing intrapreneurship can create ventures, tackle societal challenges, and strengthen collaboration across sectors.
Universities’ roles are expanding beyond teaching and research to include fostering innovation and regional development through third-mission activities. Academic entrepreneurship -- encompassing patenting, licensing, technology transfer, and spin-off creation -- facilitates the commercialization of research and strengthens partnerships with entrepreneurs, government, and industry, positioning universities as drivers of social and economic growth.
Despite the growing interest in academic entrepreneurship, there is limited focus on how universities can cultivate the internal capabilities needed for success. Organizational structures, environmental factors, and individual characteristics influence the emergence of intrapreneurial behaviours among academics.
By nurturing intrapreneurs, universities can empower future change-makers who create lasting impact, not just through knowledge dissemination, but by driving meaningful change
Universities face challenges in fostering intrapreneurship due to rigid hierarchies, scarce funding, bureaucracy, and an aversion to failure. The pursuit of academic accolades often prioritizes safe, incremental research over bold, untested ideas.
To foster creativity and innovation, universities must promote a culture of change and entrepreneurship. This involves establishing mechanisms like regulations and incentives while encouraging collaboration among academic members to drive innovation.
Embedding these individual efforts into the institution’s culture is key to achieving lasting impact. Leadership participation lends legitimacy, while collaborative initiatives create solutions that gain broader acceptance.
Knowledge transfer office (KTO) managers should play a crucial role in bridging research and administration, fostering an intrapreneurial culture that boosts metrics like patents and spin-offs. Embracing experimentation and flexible goals enables academics to co-create and learn, strengthening academic entrepreneurship and driving meaningful impact.
Institutions like Stanford’s d.school, with its “Designing for Social Impact” program, demonstrate how academia can cultivate intrapreneurship by encouraging students to address societal issues creatively.
Similarly, Bangladesh offers examples such as the University of Dhaka’s Innovation, Creativity, and Entrepreneurship (ICE) Center and BRAC University’s initiatives such as Center for Entrepreneurship Development (CED) and Women Empowerment Cell (WEC), which bridge the gap between academia and industry through research and collaborative projects.
While universities are slowly embracing this new role -- acting as hubs of innovation and regional development -- too little attention has been paid to how internal capabilities, structures, and cultures can foster intrapreneurial behaviour.
Intrapreneurship in academia requires more than just external incentives; it needs a shift in internal culture to nurture creativity, encourage risk-taking, and embrace failure as a learning tool.
The faculty members should be rewarded for creating programs with societal impact, not just for publishing papers. Academic institutions must evolve into hubs of experimentation, collaboration, and entrepreneurial thinking.
Countries that support academic entrepreneurship should encourage universities to build internal intrapreneurial capacities. This process typically takes about three years, but it may require longer depending on the university’s readiness.
Policy-makers can further support academic entrepreneurship by providing continuity in governance, incentivizing universities to cultivate an entrepreneurial culture that drives long-term success.
The academic institutions must evolve by embracing innovation, experimentation, and entrepreneurial thinking. By nurturing intrapreneurs, universities can empower future change-makers who create lasting impact, not just through knowledge dissemination, but by driving meaningful change.
The time to break free from tradition and lead in innovation is now.
Dr Nusrat Hafiz is an Assistant Professor & Director of Women Empowerment Cell, BRAC Business School, BRAC University. Anoosheh Abdullah, Student, BRAC University.
