Quacquarelli Symonds agency has published a new ranking of the best universities in the world. It includes 1,500 universities. The twentieth study changed its methodology to include sustainability criteria, employment outcomes, and an existing international research network. The study was carried out by analyzing 17.5 million scientific papers and more than 240 thousand opinions of teachers and employers.
The best universities in the world
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was recognized as the best university. The university has been leading the QS world rankings for 12 years. In addition, in March, it was recognized by the same agency as the best in chemical engineering, civil and structural engineering, computer science and information systems, data sciences and artificial intelligence, electronics engineering, linguistics, materials science, mechanical and aircraft engineering, mathematics, physics and astronomy, statistics and operational research.
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Second place remained unchanged compared to last year; it was taken by the University of Cambridge (99.2 points). The University of Oxford moved up to third place. Its result was 98.9 points. Harvard University took fourth place with a score of 98.3 points. The university lost one place compared to last year. Stanford University (98.1 points), which took fifth place, dropped two positions.
There are bright ups and downs in the top 10. Thus, the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) rose from 27th place to 10th with a score of 90.4 points. ETH Zurich and the National University of Singapore (NUS) moved up two places, scoring 93.3 and 92.7 points, respectively. UCL (92.4 points) was unable to maintain eighth place and dropped to ninth, while Imperial College London (97.8 points) did not change its position compared to last year.
New methodology
QS said changes had been made to its ranking methodology. Sustainability of development, international research network, and employment indicators appeared among the evaluation criteria. The new evaluation criteria, in total, took up 15% of other criteria, taking away weight mainly from the indicator of the academic reputation of universities and the ratio of the number of students to the number of teachers in faculties. This has led to dramatic changes in the positions of many universities.
As noted by Ben Sowter, senior vice president of QS, adjustments were made in order to take into account the priorities of Generation Z and Alpha. For example, according to QS, about 88% of applicants consider the work of universities to reduce their environmental impact to be important. According to Sowter, students associate themselves with the university’s brand, so it is important for them to evaluate the institution’s priorities and make sure that they care about the same things.
Big changes
As a result of the change in methodology, Australian educational institutions significantly strengthened their positions, and the University of Sydney even rose by 22 places, which became a record for Australian universities. University of Sydney’s Vice-Chancellor Mark Scott said: “We know our research is world-class, and the education our students receive at universities across Australia is amongst the best in the world, and this outcome is a testament to that.” As Sowter noted, Australia is a clear example of “containment” based on previous criteria, and the revised methodology made it possible to see the educational potential of the country.
The same goes for Ireland. The senior vice-president of QS noted that in Irish universities, in general, the ratio of teachers to students has been a constraint on their previous performance, and as a result of the change in methodology, Irish universities are in higher positions.
At the same time, most Swiss universities have lost their positions. Thus, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) dropped by 2 places, Universität Zürich (UZH) dropped by 13 places, and the University of Geneva dropped by 20 places.
Among the criteria by which universities are judged, rankings typically focus on the quality of teaching and research, the institutions’ reputation in the global academic environment, and the employability of graduates.
The greatest weight among the criteria used by QS analysts is the academic reputation of the university. It is determined through a survey of participants in the global academic community. Academic reputation indicates not only the quality of a particular institution’s research but also its ability to communicate its scientific achievements and their global impact.
If a university can attract specialists who produce quality research, it will have the funds and good infrastructure that will ultimately benefit the students.
