Time for a little Thunderbird pride: The University of British Columbia has been included on the 2018 list of the World’s Most Innovative Universities.
The annual ranking of 100 institutes of higher learning across the globe comes from Reuters, and is a list “that identifies and ranks the educational institutions doing the most to advance science, invent new technologies and power new markets and industries.”
UBC
Ranked at number 61, UBC is one of two Canadian universities to land on the list; the University of Toronto landed in the 35th position on the prestigious list.
To determine the rankings, Reuters looks at criteria such as research endeavours, patents generated and granted, and the school’s commercial impact.
“UBC had a research budget of $658 million for 8,973 research projects during the 2017-2018 academic year, including 1,375 projects conducted with partners in private industry. More than 200 companies were spun off from UBC research during that same period.According to the university, UBC discoveries have generated $3.8 billion in sales,” notes Reuters in its summary of UBC’s ranking.
UBC’s inventions include the development of a new ultrasound probe that could dramatically lower the cost of these medical scanners to as little as $100. The patent-pending invention replaces the piezoelectric crystals that power conventional ultrasound devices with tiny vibrating drums made of polymer resin.
And among the noteworthy alumni: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
For the fourth consecutive year, Stanford University in California took the top spot.
Here are the top 10:
1. Stanford University, USA
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA
3. Harvard University, USA
4. University of Pennsylvania, USA
5. University of Washington, USA
6. University of Texas System, USA
7. KU Leuven, Belgium
8. Imperial College London, United Kingdom
9. University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, USA
10. Vanderbilt University, USA
