Foreword from the Interim Vice-President, Research & Innovation
Ryerson’s growth in scholarly, research and creative activities is a truly remarkable reflection of the outstanding endeavours taking place across campus.
Recently, Ryerson was highlighted in Research Infosource’s 15-year spotlight series, which noted our successes over the past decade and a half, naming Ryerson a top university for income growth, with gains of 400 per cent. Research Infosource also acknowledged Ryerson's growth rate of 764 per cent in academic publications, and officially recognized us as a comprehensive university. Reflecting on our progress over 2015-16, it is clear that we have a lot to be proud of.
Tri-Council funding has seen an increase of nearly 19 per cent, with rising support from all three agencies: the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). This year, Ryerson celebrated a few firsts in Tri-Council funding, including an eHealth Innovative Partnership Program (eHIPP) Operating Grant from CIHR, an NSERC Strategic Partnership Grant for Networks, and a SSHRC Partnership Grant. Ryerson now has 20 Canada Research Chair positions with three new chairs named this year in the respective areas of Software and Semantic Computing, Spacecraft Dynamics and Control, and Social Media Data Stewardship.
We are also gaining recognition for a number of our thematic research strengths, including: health and well being; energy and sustainability; management, entrepreneurship and competitiveness; and city building and social justice.
Within a collaborative framework that facilitates interdisciplinary partnerships, both inside and outside the university, our industry, foundation and non-profit partners have contributed more than $13 million to joint projects with our researchers. These alliances are strengthening and expanding Ryerson’s connections to our communities in order to address real world challenges and meet societal needs.
Ryerson is a key contributor to Canada’s innovation ecosystem, with a focus on supporting entrepreneurs and driving economic growth. This year, with a provincial grant of $7.4 million, we saw the launch of the Ontario Centre for Workforce Innovation (OCWI), a cross-institutional partnership anchored at Ryerson that will help to develop innovative strategies to address the pressing issues of employment and training within our province. Building on our past successes, I-INC (Incubate Innovate Network of Canada) is expanding its support for incubating small businesses and creating jobs. Ryerson has also promoted programs that support social innovation initiatives, with faculty and students receiving funds from the RBC Immigrant, Diversity and Inclusion project as well as RECODE funding from the McConnell Foundation.
Funding to support student research continues to be a priority. Partnership programs such as Mitacs, OCE Talent Edge and NSERC Engage grants are helping Ryerson to attract and develop top talent in applied research.
Ryerson has also continued to expand its international presence, with 142 international partners in 41 countries around the globe and 18 new institutional agreements signed this year. Ryerson has had the opportunity to host more than 100 delegations from 39 countries within the last year.
We are very proud of our successes and this report will highlight just a few of the most exciting achievements of the last fiscal year. We hope you’ll take a moment to celebrate with us the impactful research being undertaken by our faculty that is transforming lives and communities.
Usha George
Vice-President, Research and Innovation (Interim)
Ryerson University
