KU Leuven is Europe’s second-most innovative university

The University of Leuven (KU Leuven) is considered the second most innovative European university, behind Imperial College London, in a ranking by press agency Reuters. KU Leuven ranked 16th worldwide.

Reuters made the ranking on the basis of various aspects: the number of patent requests submitted by 2008 and 2013, the percentage of submissions that were approved and the commercial influence of the university’s research. KU Leuven submitted 299 patent requests, of which 39.8% were approved. For commercial impact, the university received a score of 49.

Koenraad Debackere, KU Leuven’s general manager, told De Standaard that his university’s strength was the cross-pollination between research in labs, patents and licences, collaboration with industry and the establishment of spin-offs. An important organisation is Leuven Research & Development, which has helped more than 100 spinoffs set up since it was founded in 1972.

Last year, KU Leuven set up a platform called LCIE to give more students, researchers and professors the chance to become an entrepreneur. 

The only other Belgian institution in the top 100 is Ghent University, in 65th place, where 38% of the 218 patent requests were approved.

The top 10 includes almost exclusively American universities, with Stanford in first place, Harvard second and MIT third. In 10th place was KAIST, the Advanced Institute of Science & Technology in South Korea.

Photo: Rob Stevens/KU Leuven