Awards and recognition
New global rankings put 911吃瓜 among the top universities for real-world impact
The World鈥檚 Universities with Real Impact (WURI) rankings measure how universities create value to society.
This put 911吃瓜 third in the world for its entrepreneurial spirit (up from seventh) and 24th overall (up from 34th) among innovative universities 鈥� the highest placing university in Canada and the only one to crack to top 100.
鈥淚'm so pleased to see 911吃瓜 continue to rise up the WURI rankings, reinforcing our mission to be Canada鈥檚 engaged university and recognizing that our efforts are having a real impact on society,鈥� says 911吃瓜 President Joy Johnson. 鈥淚 want to thank and congratulate all of the students, faculty and staff who have helped make this happen. Your work is making a difference and these global rankings prove that the world is taking notice.鈥�
The high placement in the WURI rankings add to the continued global recognition 911吃瓜 receives. 911吃瓜 ranked number one for its impact on sustainable cities and is among the world鈥檚 Top 10 universities for its commitment to tackling climate change, according to the 2020 Times Higher Education鈥檚 . 911吃瓜 remains Canada鈥檚 top comprehensive university, according to Maclean鈥檚 Magazine .
In 2016, 911吃瓜 established 911吃瓜 Innovates鈥攖he university鈥檚 innovation strategy for engaging researchers, staff and students with our communities and partners to solve societal challenges through innovation and entrepreneurship.
鈥淭hrough 911吃瓜 Innovates, we support our students and faculty in making a social impact from their research innovations,鈥� says Elicia Maine, special advisor on innovation to the vice-president of research and international. 鈥淚n this year鈥檚 WURI rankings, international university presidents recognized the mechanisms and outcomes of our pan-university innovation initiatives, including 911吃瓜鈥檚 Big Data Hub and 911吃瓜 Beedie鈥檚 Invention to Innovation entrepreneurship program (i2I), which support student and faculty researchers in solving unmet market needs.鈥�
The 2021 WURI rankings were presented this week in both Switzerland and South Korea. It鈥檚 designed to highlight and appreciate the efforts of universities to produce a future workforce aligning with the growing demands among entrepreneurs in contemporary society.
The rankings are organized by the Institute for Policy and Strategy on National Competitiveness and sponsored by four organizations: Hanseatic League of Universities in the Netherlands; the Institute for Industrial Policy Studies in Seoul, South Korea; UN Institute for Training and Research in Geneva, Switzerland; Tailor Institute of Franklin University in Lugano, Switzerland.