November 14, 2024

Advancing Business Excellence

Pioneering Corporate Success

McGill places 20th worldwide for innovation and entrepreneurship in new rankings

McGill places 20th worldwide for innovation and entrepreneurship in new rankings

McGill University placed 20th in the new Ignition Schools rankings, which rate universities on their success in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. Sponsored by sister magazines Inc. and Fast Company, the rankings list the top 50 schools of the approximately 900 considered.

“The 50 colleges and universities we’re honoring in our inaugural list don’t just produce elite students and groundbreaking research; they also are economic engines that generate the ideas, businesses and opportunities that move cities, regions and countries toward a better future,” wrote Brendan Vaughan, the editor-in-chief of Fast Company.

The magazines gave special mention to McGill’s Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship and to such internationally renowned figures as management theorist Henry Mintzberg, the John Cleghorn Professor of Management Studies (Strategy & Organization) at the Desautels Faculty of Management.

“McGill University’s commitment to innovation in health and sustainability aligns with its strong academic heritage in the biological and chemical sciences. McGill’s rich history includes pioneering discoveries in medicine, neuroscience, and psychology,” the magazines’ writers noted.

“Alumni like Mort Zuckerman (Boston Properties) and Michelle Zatlyn (Cloudflare) highlight its global business influence, while the school’s Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship fosters ventures that emphasize social impact and environmental sustainability. Professors like Henry Mintzberg, a management theorist, further reinforce McGill’s leadership in business education and entrepreneurial thinking,” they wrote.

Since the Dobson Centre’s founding in 1988, it has supported thousands of ventures, which have created over 10,000 new jobs and raised $3.7 billion in funding. It currently serves over 470 active startups.

“At the Dobson Centre, we recognize that remarkable McGill innovation must serve a purpose,” said Marie-Josée Lamothe, the Centre’s Academic and Executive Director.  “Brilliant ideas cannot stay at the conceptual stages, and we are committed to building companies that tackle our world’s most pressing issues. One reason we are hyper-focused on the ideas coming out in life sciences and sustainability is because we believe that those innovations will lead to global betterment.”

Schools were ranked according to their performance in such areas as ties to prominent entrepreneurs, companies founded by students or alumni, investment and venture capital money raised by companies run by students or alumni, government research and development monies given to the school and performance of the school’s tech transfer office.

Four other Canadian universities joined McGill in the Top 50: University of Toronto (13th), University of Waterloo (25th), University of British Columbia (34th) and Queen’s University (50th).

link