THE UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas climbed 21 notches in the 2025 World University Rankings for Innovation (WURI) and secured a spot in two of the assessment categories’ top 100.
In the latest edition of WURI, UST ranked 196th among the top 400 innovative institutions, an improvement from its previous ranking of 217th in 2024.
It was also able to land in two of the assessment’s 16 categories, placing 66th in technology development and application and 35th in the funding for sustainability.
Urdaneta City University emerged as the most innovative school in the Philippines after placing 44th globally and landing within the top 100 of industrial application (1st), SDG-based responses to global challenges (2nd) and student mobility and openness (4th).
It was followed by Romblon State University (56th) which ranked in three categories: student support and engagement (2nd), crisis management (5th) and newly-added ESG (environmental, social, governance) trend (3rd).
Meanwhile, St. Paul University Philippines (66th) was the third most innovative Philippine institution after securing a spot in three of WURI’s categories, namely technology development and application (17th), the newly-added empowerment-based management (3rd) and culture or values (9th)
Also among the ranked Philippine universities are Far Eastern University – Dr. Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation, Southern Leyte State University, Cebu Normal University-Main, Mariano Marcos State University, Tarlac Agricultural University and Samar State University.
Each of the 16 categories was assessed according to three criteria: innovativeness, which focuses on the program’s content or effectiveness; implementability for measuring costs and benefits; and impact, which considers scope and intensity. Cost-effectiveness management was among the new categories added this year for a “balanced” evaluation.
Minerva University in the United States (US) was the top institution worldwide, followed by Arizona State University, also a US-based school and École 42 in Paris.
Launched in 2020, WURI is a not-for-profit global ranking system that seeks to evaluate the ability of various institutions to contribute to society through innovation. F
(Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the highest-ranked Philippine institution in the assessment.)
