These are Europe’s 50 most innovative universities for 2017

Which European educational institutions are doing the most to advance science and invent new technologies, which help drive an improved global economy?

The most dynamic and innovative university in Europe?

The world’s oldest Catholic university, Belgium’s KU Leuven has been ranked as the most innovative in Europe in the Reuters Top 100: Europe’s Most Innovative Universities ranking.

Four UK educational institutions have been rated among the top 20 most innovative universities in Europe.

Imperial College London, the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, and the University of Manchester place in 2nd, 3rd, 10th, and 16th position respectively.

Germany, meanwhile, has the most universities on the list – 23 in total – while the United Kingdom and France place second, each with 17 ranked institutions.

Top 50 most innovative universities in Europe:

1. KU Leuven, Belgium
2. Imperial College London, United Kingdom
3. University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
4. Technical University of Munich, Germany
5. Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne, Switzerland
6. University of Erlangen Nuremberg, Germany
7. Pierre & Marie Curie University – Paris, France
8. Delft University of Technology, Netherlands
9. University of Zurich, Switzerland
10. University of Oxford, United Kingdom
11. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Switzerland
12. University of Munich, Germany
13. University of Copenhagen, Denmark
14. Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
15. University of Montpellier, France
16. University of Manchester, United Kingdom
17. Leiden University, Netherlands
18. Free University of Berlin, Germany
19. Ghent University, Belgium
20. University of Paris Descartes – Paris, France
21. University of Dundee, United Kingdom
22. University of Paris Sud – Paris, France
23. University of London, United Kingdom
24. University of Freiburg, Germany
25. University of Basel, Switzerland
26. Dresden University of Technology, Germany
27. Ruprecht Karl University Heidelberg, Germany
28. Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Germany
29. University of Strasbourg, France
30. Charité Medical University of Berlin, Germany
31. Grenoble Institute of Technology, France
32. Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands
33. Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany
34. University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
35. University of Aix-Marseille, France
36. Cardiff University, United Kingdom
37. University of Claude Bernard – Lyon, France
38. Free University of Brussels, Belgium
39. Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy
40. University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
41. Technical University of Berlin, Germany
42. University of Bordeaux, France
43. Grenoble Alpes University, France
44. Karlsruher Institute of Technology, Germany
45. Ecole Polytechnique, France
46. University of Oslo, Norway
47. University of Paris Diderot – Paris, France
48. Vrije University of Brussels, Belgium
49. Saarland University, Germany
50. University of Utrecht, Netherlands

The innovative universities list was compiled using 10 different metrics, including academic papers, which indicate basic research and patent filings.