University of Waterloo Most Innovative for 23rd Year in a Row

WATERLOO, ON--(Marketwired - October 29, 2014) - The University of Waterloo is Canada's top university for innovation for the 23rd consecutive year and Best Overall for 2015, according to Maclean's magazine.

The Maclean's annual ranking of Canadian universities, released today, also saw Waterloo move up to the top spot in the Leaders of Tomorrow category. 

"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."

Waterloo is home to groundbreaking research that is changing the world. For example, Canada Excellence Research Chair Philippe Van Cappellen, of the Faculty of Science and the Water Institute, is developing new tools to identify, monitor and predict the fate of nutrients and harmful chemicals along the water cycle. A few of his current projects include detecting microplastics in the Great Lakes, monitoring the effects of dams on water quality in rivers and forecasting the impact of population growth and climate change on the health of coastal ecosystems.

The University of Waterloo's unparalleled entrepreneurship programs are recognized around the world as the engine of one of the world's top-20 communities for startups. Velocity, the University's incubator program, the Conrad Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology Centre, and the Accelerator Centre provide education, workspace and mentorship for both student and faculty innovators. This year, Waterloo opened Velocity Science and the Velocity Foundry, where students and recent grads can develop, test and implement their ideas for commercial ventures in the life sciences and hardware technologies.

"Waterloo attracts some of the best and brightest students in the world. As a result of the hard work of our dedicated and talented faculty and staff, they receive a world-class education with the necessary supports to help them create positive change both in Canada and around the world," said Professor Hamdullahpur.

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.

About the University of Waterloo
In just half a century, the University of Waterloo, located at the heart of Canada's technology hub, has become one of Canada's leading comprehensive universities with 35,000 full- and part-time students in undergraduate and graduate programs. Waterloo, as home to the world's largest post-secondary co-operative education program, embraces its connections to the world and encourages enterprising partnerships in learning, research and discovery. In the next decade, the university is committed to building a better future for Canada and the world by championing innovation and collaboration to create solutions relevant to the needs of today and tomorrow. For more information about Waterloo, please visit www.uwaterloo.ca.

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