Red Hat Collaboratory and BU Spark! Land BU on the US News Most Innovative Universities List
In an acknowledgement of Boston University’s continued rise as a top institution for innovation, it has been placed for the first time on the 2019 edition of US News & World Report‘s Most Innovative Colleges list. The recognition comes after US News conducted a survey in which college presidents, provosts, and admissions deans were asked to nominate institutions that make highly innovative improvements through curriculum, faculty and students, and technology.
Vice President and Associate Provost for Research Gloria S. Waters said she is excited to see the University’s innovation profile become more visible, explaining that “over the past year we have pioneered several new models of support and collaboration for research.”
These models include the Red Hat Collaboratory, a partnership that brings together researchers and scientists from Red Hat and BU and provides a range of opportunities for students, staff, and faculty: project incubation, fellowship opportunities, and support for visiting scientists. Waters also mentioned the Hariri-housed BU Spark!, an initiative that supports student driven innovation and entrepreneurship in computer science, computer engineering, and related disciplines and aims to help students realize their technical potential by providing access to resources, knowledge, and expert networks to support their innovation journeys.
Waters said she is optimistic about the future of these programs, and hopes they will continue to lead to impactful projects and discoveries by students and faculty.