Innovative Leader

In the Thomson Reuters' Innovation Ranking of Europe's Most Innovative Universities 2017, the University of Freiburg has again been ranked number one among the universities of Baden-Württemberg. The university has therefore occupied its top position in both Baden-Württemberg and Germany since the results began to be published in 2015. Among the country's comprehensive universities, Freiburg places fourth and is in fifth place nationally. This means that the University of Freiburg improved its ranking by one grade this year. On a European level, Freiburg is 24th among the continent's 100 most innovative universities. "The expansion of our activities in technology transfer and innovation last year is now bearing fruit. That is how the University of Freiburg came to achieve fourth place in the current Gründungsradar-Ranking of the Stifterverband," says Prof. Dr. Margit Zacharias, Vice President for Innovation and Technology Transfer. "This reflects the innovative power that enables comprehensive universities to actively shape the future," she adds.

The ratings of the Canadian media company Thomson Reuters list universities whose innovations have the greatest impact on scientific and technical progress and have the most influence on the global economy. The evaluation focuses on success in patenting, the number of patent families, and the volume of patents registered. Another assessment criterion for Thomson Reuters is the amount of scientific publications, which provides information about the research performance of each institution being evaluated. The frequency with which scientists and researchers cite other institutions in patents and publications, as well as cooperation with industry, are also included in the assessment.

Thomson Reuters Ranking of Europe's Most Innovative Universities 2017

Contact:
Prof. Dr. Margit Zacharias
Vice President for Innovation and Technology Transfer
University of Freiburg
Tel.: 0761/203-4318
E-Mail: prorektorin.innovation@uni-freiburg.de