Ryerson University

Urban impact with global reach
With the world’s population increasingly concentrated in cities, Ryerson University’s distinctly urban character and commitment to city building place it in a unique position to make an impact both in Toronto and across the globe. Ryerson’s educational identity and research vision are defined by the intention to serve societal needs with creative solutions to complex problems.
From its leading experiential learning programs to its groundbreaking entrepreneurial ecosystem, innovation is the driving force behind the university’s mission to create healthy cities and foster positive social change. Ryerson is composed of eight dynamic faculties and home to 39,500 students, 3,900 faculty and staff and 121 undergraduate and graduate programs, making it one of the largest comprehensive universities in Canada.
Innovation and entrepreneurship
Ryerson has nurtured a culture of entrepreneurship that has helped it develop one of the largest experiential learning programs in the world. The Zone Learning network is a series of 10 on-campus incubators where students can apply their degree coursework toward the development of products, companies and social ventures. These zones span various disciplines and enable students to gain real-world skills and industry mentorship before they graduate.
Of Ryerson’s zones, the most noteworthy is the DMZ, an accelerator for tech startups that has been ranked the top university-based incubator in the world. Since being founded in 2010, the DMZ has helped develop 420 startups who have raised more than $625 million in seed funding and has fostered the creation of more than 3,800 jobs.
More recently, Ryerson has taken its entrepreneurial ecosystem beyond Toronto, opening in Calgary, Mumbai, Bangalore, Ho Chi Minh and Palava. Collectively, these programs have raised over $500 million in seed funding for an array of startups.