October 29, 2014
Waterloo most innovative university in Canada 23 years running
Waterloo ranks Best Overall in Canada and the university most likely to produce Leaders of Tomorrow, according to Maclean’s ranking
The University of Waterloo is the most innovative university in Canada for the 23rd consecutive year, according to rankings released by Maclean's magazine.
In addition, Waterloo moved up in the magazine’s 2015 national reputational rankings to become the Best Overall university in Canada as well as the one most likely to produce Leaders of Tomorrow.
“Innovation is at the heart of all we do at the University of Waterloo, and for 23 consecutive years, this University has been recognized as Canada’s leading institution for innovation," said Feridun Hamdullahpur, president and vice-chancellor of Waterloo. “We continue to build on our reputation as the driving force of a dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem, a world leader in co-op education and in transformational research, as we work towards our goal of becoming one of the world’s great innovation universities.”
The Maclean’s reputational rankings result from a national survey of high school guidance counsellors, university officials, heads of national organizations, recruiters, and CEOs of companies across Canada.
Waterloo’s entrepreneurial ecosystem
Part of Waterloo’s reputation for innovation is due to its unparalleled entrepreneurial ecosystem which includes the Velocity startup support programs; the Conrad Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology Centre; the Waterloo Commercialization Office (WatCo); GreenHouse and Research Entrepreneurs Accelerating Prosperity (REAP.)
Waterloo continues to innovate on the entrepreneurial education front. New initiatives this year include:
- the construction of an $88-million engineering building that will house an Engineering Ideas Clinic™ where students will design, build, test and refine their innovations.
- a new entrepreneurship option for engineering students that started this fall. Run through the Conrad Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology Centre, the option offers courses to enhance students’ technical and business skills.
- the opening of Velocity Science and the Velocity Foundry, discovery spaces where hardware and life science startups can develop.
Read more Waterloo entrepreneurship stories
Research at Waterloo
Our research excellence has been recognized by Research Infosource results which have ranked Waterloo the top comprehensive university in Canada for research for seven consecutive years. In another ranking, the British firm, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) put Waterloo 24th in the world for its work in computer science and mathematics.
