Karolinska Institutet number one in Sweden in innovation ranking
Karolinska Institutet (KI) is ranked 38 of 200 in the science magazine Nature's innovation ranking, Nature Index 2017 Innovation, which measures how companies and organizations use the university's research results. KI is the highest ranking Swedish university and the only one to enter the top 50.
The Nature Index Innovation report is based on how often research from academia and other public research institutions is cited in patents owned by non-academic organizations, for example companies in the IT, pharmaceutical and biomedical industries.
"While one should be cautious about drawing far-reaching conclusions from rankings, this is an important indication of how KI stands in relation to other universities and a confirmation that we conduct high-quality research that is relevant to society at large,” says Ole Petter Ottersen, Vice-Chancellor at KI who took office on August 1.
To enter Nature Index Innovation, a university must have many publications in high-ranking scientific journals, and research findings that are applicable and cited in patents.
"This ranking provides a very interesting way to determine how university research contributes to the development of products of benefit to our society. It measures how third parties use our research findings to develop quality products and services," says Richard Cowburn, responsible for business collaboration at Karolinska Institutet.
USA in the top
American universities fill 38 of the top 50 spots in the Nature Index 2017 rankings; among the top five are Scripps Research Institute, San Diego, followed by Rockefeller University, New York; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston; University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester and The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas.
KI is one of six European universities in the top 50. Other Swedish universities appearing in the list are Uppsala University and Stockholm University.
Nature Index Innovation bases its ranking on Lens, which is an open web-based tool that measures research's impact on innovations.