VMU Ranked 41st for Entrepreneurship in WURI Ranking of Universities

Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) has been included in the global ranking of innovative universities, World’s Universities with Real Impact (WURI), where it has been ranked 41st in the category of entrepreneurial spirit.

The WURI ranking seeks to identify and evaluate higher education institutions whose educational and scientific innovations prepare the world for the fourth industrial revolution. This is the first global ranking of universities which has been developed to support and evaluate flexible and innovative efforts by universities in response to the needs of industries and society. The WURI ranking evaluates the best universities in four categories: industrial application, entrepreneurial spirit, ethical value, and student mobility and openness.

In the category of entrepreneurial spirit, in which Vytautas Magnus University has been ranked high, Aalto University (Finland) has been ranked 1st, followed by Hanze University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands) and Princeton University (USA). In other categories of the ranking, Stanford University (USA) has been recognized as the best in terms of industrial application, Harvard University (USA) leads in ethical value, and the National University of Singapore leads in student mobility and openness.

The developers of the ranking note that although it includes the most recognized and prestigious universities of the world, WURI also ranks lesser known and less popular educational institutions. “WURI Ranking is not based on tradition, reputation, or popularity, but rather is focused on innovativeness, entrepreneurship, responsibility, and openness”, says Hwy-Chang Moon, the founder and director of WURI and Professor Emeritus at Seoul National University.

In the overall WURI ranking, the highest number of higher education institutions among the 100 ranked universities are based in the US (32), the UK (8) and China (7). The ranking’s leaders are Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA) and Aalto University.

The Centre for Enterprise Practices at Vytautas Magnus University, which has been in operation for more than five years, significantly contributes to the promotion of entrepreneurship at VMU. One of the initiatives run by the center is the training program “MINDED Entrepreneurship Academy”, which allows students to develop competencies of entrepreneurship, creative thinking and teamwork. The centre also implements other projects, such as the start-up program that enables the implementation of social and business ideas, or the “Academy of Experiences”, which develops entrepreneurial competencies of pupils.