University’s just starting off... pocketing profit is awkward (8)
I believe the answer is:
ungainly
'awkward' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'university's just starting off pocketing profit' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'profit' could be 'gain' (synonyms) and 'gain' is found in the answer.
'university' could be 'u' and 'u' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'is' is the link.
(Other definitions for ungainly that I've seen before include "Clumsy, not coordinated" , "Lacking grace in movement" , "Clumsy or awkward, as nun gaily goes about" , "Gangling" , "Physically clumsy or maladroit" .)