The University of Dundee has been named Innovative & Entrepreneurial University of the Year at an awards ceremony celebrating entrepreneurship and engagement in higher education.

This year’s Triple E European Awards ceremony was held at the 2024 ACEEU Europe-Africa Forum in Lisbon.

The Scottish university was recognised as championing an entrepreneurial culture, with enterprise and engagement standing alongside teaching and research as key pillars of its activity.

This ranking was determined by factors such as number of patents, spin-out companies created, and recent portfolio success.

It follows the university being named in 2023 as the UK’s top university for spin-out success by Octopus Ventures.

Dundee secured the top place due to its “incredibly high” average exit value for its spin-out companies, bolstered by Exscientia—the biotech company using AI to support drug discovery.

In 2021, the biotech floated on the US NASDAQ at a valuation of $2.9 billion (£2.2bn~), and raised $510m (around £406m) in its IPO alongside private placement.

Speaking on the latest recognition, Dr David McBeth, who serves as vice-principal of enterprise and economic transformation at the university, said: “This honour recognises Dundee’s commitment to developing entrepreneurship among our students, alumni and staff and places Dundee at the forefront of innovative practice among European universities.

“We have a strong track record stretching back many years in creating new businesses based on world-leading science, especially in health and life sciences, and our enterprising staff and students.”

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“Both our Centre for Entrepreneurship and our Research & Innovation Services have been regularly cited as leaders in terms of innovative and impactful practices for supporting start-up and spin-out companies,” McBeth added.

“We are continuing to strengthen and invest in our innovation pipeline, including with the establishment of a new Life Sciences Innovation Hub in Dundee, a significant addition to Scotland’s capacity to grow and retain new companies, and this award will only further boost our efforts.”