Ignition Schools 2024: Our methodology

The Ignition Schools 2024 rankings shine a light on schools around the world with the biggest impact on innovation and entrepreneurship. Our methodology focuses on the ways in which schools stimulate new technologies and industries and nurture the people and companies who bring them to the world. The evaluation includes a list of schools gathered via applicant submissions and research on postsecondary institutions by the Inc. and Fast Company editorial teams. The short list for honorees was approximately 900 schools. To create the ranked list, schools were scored based on their performance in multiple categories: Founders/entrepreneurs from the school Companies started by attendees/alumni of the school Investment/VC money raised by companies run by attendees/alumni from the school Government R&D investment/grants given to the school (via HERD Survey) Performance of the school’s Tech Transfer Office (where applicable) Once ranked, the scores were combined via a weighted average to give each school a unified score representing their rank among its peers as an Ignition School. The draft list was then reviewed by the Inc. and Fast Company editorial teams, and adjustments in rank were made based on scores normalized for size of student body and for qualitative elements not represented in the gathered data. Sources: LinkedIn, Association of University Tech Managers (AUTM), Higher Education Research and Development (HERD), PitchBook, application data Acknowledgments: Special thanks to Teresa Lynch at Mass Economics; George Gendron; Van Le, Daniel Cook, and Andy White at PitchBook; and Paul Stark at AUTM