Dundee University has been named as one of the top 20 most innovative universities in Europe, in a new ranking.
The figure means it is the highest in Scotland, and fifth best across the UK.
Professor Sir Pete Downes, principal and vice-chancellor of the university, was delighted with the latest success.
He said: “This is yet another accolade for us in a year when we have been named Scottish university of the year, one of the world’s top 200 universities, first in Scotland for student experience and in the top 20 of the world’s universities under 50 years old.
“Innovation and impact are core to our ethos as a university so obviously it is satisfying to be recognised for that in these rankings.”
The next highest Scottish universities were Edinburgh, in 32nd place, and St Andrews, in 82nd.
The ranking was produced by Reuters, who said they were looking for “educational institutions that are doing the most to advance science, invent new technologies, and help drive the global economy”.
Imperial, Cambridge, Oxford and Manchester were the only UK universities to beat Dundee.
Topping the list was KU Leuven, a Dutch-speaking school in Belgium’s Flanders region.
The figures were put together by the IP & Science division of Thomson Reuters, who analysed the work of hundreds of global institutions.
Over 600 organisations – including educational institutions, nonprofit charities, and government-funded labs – were examined to determine who published the most academic research.
Each candidate was then reviewed across 10 different metrics, including academic papers, which indicate basic research, and patent filings, which point to an institution’s ability to apply research and commercialise its discoveries.
From this, Reuters cut the list to include only European universities, and then ranked them based on their overall performance.
Reuters said the universities ranked in the Europe Top 100 count among the world’s best, producing original research, creating useful technology and stimulating the global economy.
