THE WORLD RANKINGS: IISC LEADS; RECORD 63 INDIAN VARSITIES JOIN

World University Rankings 2021: In all 1,527 institutions qualified this year, up 9 per cent from 2020

The Indian Institute of Science (IISC), Bengaluru, maintained its lead as the country’s top institution in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2021. A record 63 Indian institutions also made it to the list, with 14 more universities registering their presence this year. With this, India had more universities on the list than any other country or region.

Following IISC, which was ranked globally in the 301-350 band, were the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar and IIT Indore, which retained their second and third spots, respectively, among the Indian institutions on the list.

Among the ones making their debut from India, the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (Delhi), King George’s Medical University (Lucknow), and the Mahatma Gandhi University (Delhi) ranked highest (601-800 band).

According to Phil Baty, chief knowledge officer at THE, given that the rankings are open only to the best research-led institutions in the world, India’s record participation highlighted the country’s desire to compete with the global best. “Not only does participation in the rankings allow universities to be visible to the rest of the world, but it also helps to monitor their progress against the global benchmarks in higher education.”

Apparently, India had previously suffered from a lack of internationalisation within its institutions, which were not attracting as many global scholars, thinkers, or students as other countries. Baty said that the recent announcement of the New Education Policy, the first since 1986, could be a step in the right direction for India.

“With proposed comprehensive changes to Indian higher education, such as the approval for foreign universities to open campuses in India, the policy is an incredibly exciting turning point for the country,” he said. “It opens the door for universities around the world to benefit from the talent and research of students and staff from India, which will positively reflect on the country in future THE World University Rankings.”

THE World University Rankings are based on 13 separate performance metrics covering the full range of core activities for researchintensive universities: teaching, research, knowledge transfer, and international outlook. This year’s ranking analysed over 86 million citations across more than 13.6 million research publications and included survey responses from 22,000 scholars globally.

While globally, the UK’S University of Oxford retained the top spot for the fifth consecutive year, China’s Tsinghua University became the first Asian university to break into the Top 20 since the current methodology launched in 2011.

The 17th edition of the rankings sees a record 18 countries and regions represented in the top 100, and 93 represented overall, demonstrating that geopolitical competition in the global knowledge economy is intensifying. Moreover, a record 1,527 institutions qualified this year, a 9 per cent increase from the 2020 rankings when 1,397 institutions qualified.

The rankings underline the shifting strength of higher education and research around the world. For instance, the US domination of the top 10 masks the wider decline of US institutions outside top 200.

After India, the US (13), mainland China (10), Russia, Japan, and Iran (all 9) bolster their representation in the rankings, following a number of new entries. France’s Paris-saclay University, formerly Paris-sud University (joint 178th), was the highest ranked new entrant. There was also a first ever entrant for Botswana: The University of Botswana (1001+).

While globally, the UK’S University of Oxford retained the top spot, China’s Tsinghua University became the first Asian university to break into the Top 20 since the current methodology launched in 2011