Pitt Ranked 30th on List of World’s Most Innovative Universities

In a new ranking of the world’s 100 most innovative universities, Pitt is listed as 30th and within the top third of this elite group. 

The rankings, compiled by Thomson Reuters, were based on 10 criteria, focusing on factors such as research output and patent filings. Thomson Reuters is the world’s largest international multimedia news agency.

During fiscal 2013, Pitt obtained 155 technology licenses and options, recorded 254 invention disclosures, and was issued 51 patents, noted the agency. During that same year, the University’s commercialization efforts generated $6.5 million, of which $4.1 million came from licensing agreements.  

“This really speaks to the quality of the faculty, staff, and students at the University,” said Marc Malandro, founding director of Pitt’s Innovation Institute. “While the Innovation Institute facilitates the translation and commercialization of their research and technologies, they are the real innovators. We will continue to work in partnership with our innovators to make an impact.”

Only four Pennsylvania schools made the Top 100: the University of Pennsylvania was ranked 9th, followed by Pitt, then Carnegie Mellon University at No. 56, and the Pennsylvania State University at No. 70. 

Stanford University, based in California’s Silicon Valley, headed the Top 100 list, followed by the No. 2-ranked Massachusetts Institute of Technology and by Harvard University in the third spot. The Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology, or KAIST, in South Korea  is the only non-U.S. school to place in the top 10.

Regarding the full list, the United States is home to the highest number of top 100 innovative universities, followed by Japan.

The survey is available at www.reuters.com/most-innovative-universities.