The Institute for Innovation and Development (IRI UL) was founded in 2007 by the University of Ljubljana, together with 10 Slovenian companies (Krka, Mercator, Sava, Zavarovalnica Triglav, Kolektor, NLB, Keko-Varicon, Gorenje, Oria Computers and Akrapovič), as a non-profit development and research institute. The Institute promotes the creation, transfer, dissemination and use of knowledge. Through the transfer of research results into practice and their commercial use the Institute facilitates the integration of the innovation triangle (research-education-innovation). 

The mission of IRI UL is to identify the research and development needs of the economy, to identify competences of UL researchers, to form and manage research and development projects, to protect intellectual property of the UL, to be a catalyser for establishing partnership with industry and entrepreneurship, and to transfer research and development results into commercial applications for public use and benefit. 

IRI UL carries out its activities through project groups composed of select qualified individuals at the UL or other experts in a specific R&D area. The formation of project groups and the regulation of contractual relations between the members and the Institute are defined in the Statute of the Institute. The intellectual property rights arising from a project are set forth in the contract between the project group and the Institute and in the contract between the Institute and the contracting entity, in accordance with the national legislation. 

IRI UL, associated member of the University of Ljubljana
At the 36th session, held on 22 September 2009, the UL Senate unanimously adopted the contract on the associate membership of IRI UL. This provides the Institute with the status of an associated member of the University of Ljubljana. Associate membership will facilitate the execution of the mission of IRI UL, enabling, among other things, the use of UL information and the library system in cooperation with regular members of the UL, as well as the use of their research equipment as it is required in the implementation of common interdisciplinary projects.