September 28, 2016
UW ranked among the top five most innovative universities in the world by Reuters
The University of Washington landed at No. 5 on The Reuters 100: The World’s Most Innovative Universities, released Wednesday. Now in its second year, the list ranks the educational institutions doing the most to advance science, invent new technologies and help drive the global economy.
“We are focused on innovation, not just in creating companies and developing new products and technologies, but as a mindset and a core value,” said UW President Ana Mari Cauce. “As we approach challenges, whether in population health, climate change, equity and justice or other areas, we ask are there ways of thinking and approaching the problem that haven’t been tried? Can we ask a whole set of new questions? And can we bring to the table those who may otherwise have been excluded? This is what it means to be innovative, and we are very pleased to be recognized among the most innovative in the world.”
Reuters’ ranking relies exclusively on empirical data such as patent filings and research paper citations specifically from 2009 to 2014, the publication reported.
“Our 2016 results show that big breakthroughs — even just one highly influential paper or patent — can drive a university way up the list, but when that discovery fades into the past, so does its ranking,” Reuters reported. “According to our findings, consistency is key, with truly innovative institutions putting out groundbreaking work year after year.”
The UW ranked No. 4 on Reuters’ inaugural list in 2015 and remains among the world’s top five, behind Stanford, MIT, Harvard and the University of Texas system.
The Reuters ranking comes on the heels of the Times Higher Education world university ranking, which placed the UW at No. 25, fourth among U.S. public institutions, and the 2016 Academic Ranking of World Universities from the Center for World-Class Universities of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, which was released last month and ranked the UW No. 15, also fourth among U.S. public institutions.
Tag(s): Rankings
