UVic ranks #1 in Canada for research impact among mid-sized universities

This achievement reflects the collective strength of UVic’s research community and the impact we are making in Canada and around the world. Through collaboration across disciplines and with our research partners, our scholars are advancing knowledge and developing solutions for some of society’s most pressing challenges.”

—Lisa Kalynchuk, UVic’s vice-president research and innovation

Whether protecting oceans, identifying climate solutions, supporting Indigenous resurgence, developing quantum technologies or advancing aerospace engineering, UVic researchers partner with communities, governments and industry to expand the impact of their work. This collaborative approach has helped UVic publish a higher proportion of internationally co-authored research than any other university in Canada, accelerating the exchange of knowledge to drive meaningful change for people, places and the planet.

Key research impact areas

Leadership in oceans research and climate solutions

• UVic is home to Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), which operates world-leading ocean observatories that support climate research, marine conservation and hazard monitoring while helping build more resilient communities, ecosystems and coastlines.

• UVic’s energy and sustainability research is strengthened through key partnerships such as Accelerating Community Energy Transformation (ACET), a multi-partner international initiative accelerating the global push for resilient and equitable clean energy solutions through community-based collaborations.

• With support from the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS), Canada's largest endowed climate research institute, UVic serves as a coastal hub that advances climate research and solutions grounded in both scientific evidence and Indigenous knowledge systems.

• UVic researchers contributed to Canada's Changing Climate Report 2026, providing key data to support the country's most comprehensive climate assessment.

• UVic’s leadership in ocean and climate research continues to attract world-leading scholars. Recent appointments include Adrian Marchetti, UVic’s newest BC Leadership Chair, whose research focuses on phytoplankton, climate change and ocean health, and Elliott Hazen, who will join UVic as one of the new Eddie Goldenberg Research Chairs. Hazen’s work advances climate-ready ocean stewardship through real-time data and partnerships with governments and Indigenous communities.

Fueling innovation in aerospace engineering

• UVic’s Centre for Aerospace Research (CfAR) is growing rapidly and shaping aerospace engineering in Canada, advancing next-generation technologies including drones, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, satellites and quantum sensing.

• CfAR partnered with Island Health to successfully test drone delivery of medical supplies in the Comox Valley to improve access to essential services in remote communities.

• In July, UVic students and researchers successfully launched MARMOTSat into orbit, marking a major milestone for a project funded through the Canadian Space Agency’s CubeSats Initiative. The satellite is studying the ionosphere to better understand how climate change and human activity influence the Earth's upper atmosphere.

• In March, UVic researchers received $5.4 million in federal funding from Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan), including $4 million to help establish a Western Canadian cluster focused on space-enabled industries. The investment will support CfAR's development of specialized facilities, expanded access to satellite data and new opportunities for students and researchers to contribute to Canada's growing aerospace sector.

Supporting Indigenous resurgence and social justice

• In July, Canada Excellence Research Chair Heather Igloliorte was awarded $2.5 million over seven years by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council’s (SSHRC) Partnerships Grants program. Her project, “Northern Indigenous Futures: Fostering Early Career Leadership and Research in the Arts,” will support circumpolar Indigenous emerging scholars, artists and arts professionals to become research leaders in Canada and around the world.

• In September, Val Napoleon, founding director of UVic's Indigenous Law Research Unit, was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, one of the country's highest academic honours, in recognition of her contributions to Indigenous law, legal research and legal education. As the founder of “Next Steps: Rebuilding Indigenous Law,” she continues to advance the revitalization of Indigenous legal orders and help rebuild Indigenous laws across Canada.

• CfAR was named a recipient of a Canadian Space Agency (CSA) grant to develop Voices from Above, a CubeSat mission that will carry Indigenous languages, greetings and cultural imagery into orbit and broadcast them back to Earth. The satellite will transmit greetings, land acknowledgements and culturally significant artwork that can be received by anyone with a handheld radio receiver and antenna.

Advancing health and life sciences

•  A new UVic-led palliative and end-of-life care resource provides frontline workers in Canada with tools and strategies to better support people experiencing serious illness, poverty and homelessness.

• The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) grant program will support eight UVic-led projects focused on developing practical solutions that improve health outcomes and strengthen health systems in partnership with communities, healthcare providers and governments.

UVic research at a glance

• 17 interdisciplinary research centres
• 68 research chairs allocated across a wide range of disciplines
• $1.09 billion in annual economic impact generated by our research

UVic’s recognition in the Maclean’s University Rankings 2027 reflects a commitment to research excellence and meaningful impact, advancing solutions that benefit communities, economies and ecosystems in Canada and around the world.

Discover more at: uvic.ca/research