University of Waterloo

Univeristy of Waterloo (UW) has long been recognized as the most innovative university in Canada. For the last 15 years, it has been ranked by Maclean's magainze as the most innovative, and for 13 of those 15 years, it was also ranked best overall. UW has six faculties: Applied Health Sciences, Arts, Engineering, Environmental Studies, Mathematics, and Science; four affiliated univerisity/colleges: St. Jerome’s University, Conrad Grebel University College, Renison College, and St. Paul's United College; and five professional schools: Accountancy, Architecture, Computer Science, Optometry, and Planning. A sixth, the School of Pharmacy, will open in January 2008, anchoring a new Kitchener health sciences campus that will include a facility for McMaster University's Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine.

2007 marks Unviersity of Waterloo's 50th Anniversary. "The Spirit of Why Not?", the theme of the 50th anniversary celebrations, promtes UW's innovative and outward-looking approaches to contributions made in society through co-operative education, distance education, technology transfer and research partnerships at the local, national, and international levels.

University of Waterloo operates the largest post secondary school co-operative education/work program of its kind in the world with more than 11,000 students enrolled over three semesters. It is a model of co-operative education which has spread to more than 100 colleges and universities across Canada. Its students graduate with the knowledge, skills, and practical experience required to solve today's complex and pressing problems and to embrace future challenges.

In 2006, it established the Research + Technology Park (R+T Park) on the North Campus. The R+T Park provides more than 1.2 million square feet of building space, next to a 270-acre Environmental Reserve, and houses the Accelerator Centre, a dynamic space that acts as a catalyst to launch technology start-ups into the marketplace. The Centre for Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (CBET), located in the Accelerator Centre, supports, builds on, and expands the entrepreneurial initiatives at the University Waterloo. CBET offers a 12-month Masters program designed for entrepreneurially-oriented people who need the business skills to move ideas from concept to successful commercialization. Also located in the R+T Park is TechTown, a community services building dedicated to the needs of the surrounding technology and professional communities, as well as the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University. TechTown offers a convenient alternative for food, fitness, dental care, childcare and banking all in one location.

Univeristy of Waterloo is the national leader in the transfer of ideas and technology to the private sector. UW's Policy #73 states that intellectual property created in the course of teaching and research belongs to the creator. As a result, more Canadian high-tech and knowledge-based spin-off companies trace their roots to the University of Waterloo than to any other school. Recognized as a research-intensive university, UW is committed to discovering new knowledge and finding ways to use that knowledge for the benefit of all. For more information about UW's research initiatives, refer to the Full Spectrum of Research brochure series below

Some of UW's research initiatives:

• Bioinformatics and Biotechnology (Genomics) [323 KB]
• Centre for Automotive Research [519 KB]
• Civil Infrastructure [309 KB]
• Environmental Research [2.0 MB]
• Financial Risk Management [889 KB]
• Fine and Performing Arts [1.5 MB]
• Health Promotion & Disease Prevention [2.8 MB]
• Humanities Research [319 KB]
• International Research [3.8 MB]
• Math & Computing in Medicine & Health Care [328 KB]
• Quantum Computing [3.7 MB]
• Scholarship of Teaching and Learning [3.7 MB]
• Sustainable Energy [488 KB]
• Water Research [464 KB].