GUST now among top 50 universities in the region
Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) announced its latest ranking as 49th in the Arab region according to data provided by one of the most influential international university rankings firms, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Limited. This comes as a major improvement, from its former ranking as 73rd last year.
GUST is once again the only private university in Kuwait to make the list, making it the top-ranked private educational institution in Kuwait. Only two universities from Kuwait featured among the top 100, with the other being Kuwait University coming at 19th. Almost 1000 institutions were evaluated during the exercise. Of these, only the top 100 appear in the published ranking.
GUST Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Prof. Salem Al Tuhaih said, “This is a phenomenal achievement for our young university. Our focus from day one has been on providing our students with a high quality institution that is recognized as a pillar and hub of knowledge. Being recognized as one of the top 50 universities in the region reflects the level of education GUST provides. Furthermore, being the only private university from Kuwait is a major achievement for us. This is a testimony to the success of our policies towards diversification, academic excellence, and focus on quality”.
First published in 2014, the annual QS University Rankings: Arab Region highlights the 100 leading universities in this part of the world. Their methodology for ranking has been developed with the aim of reflecting specific challenges and priorities for institutions in the region, drawing on nine indicators including academic reputation and papers per faculty.
University President, Prof Donald Bates said, “This is a monumental accomplishment as GUST has not only maintained its presence on the list, but its ranking has gone up over 20 spots! I am also proud that we remain the only private university in Kuwait to be recognized for its academic prowess, and excited to see that the dedication and caliber of our faculty, students, and staff is being recognized. The QS ranking shows that GUST continues to maintain its leadership among private universities in Kuwait in key areas covered by the survey”.
The improved ranking reveals that the university has taken great strides to improve on the academic front. These include measures to improve GUST’s presence and contribution at international conferences, strengthen partnerships with other universities, accredit taught programs, maintain an excellent faculty to student ratio, and commit to hiring academic staff with PhDs.
The university’s higher place on QS’s list is also owed to the fact that its graduates are seen as more employable, and that its web impact has vastly improved thanks to its use of social media in its marketing efforts.
GUSTs strategic goal is to enhance the position in the coming couple of years and to be listed in the international rankings. QS World University Rankings, Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and US News Best Global Universities provide one of the few external measures of university strength and can be a factor in how prospective students choose the right school.
This accomplishment comes on the heels of other major achievements the university has secured for this year, such as the Mass Communication and Media Department earning a coveted accreditation from the American Communications Association, and the Public Relations Department earning the university the prestigious Emerging Media Award for Best Consumer Integrated Campaign in the “Visionary” category at the Summit International Awards in the USA. On the sports side, the men’s football team were the champions of the 2017 Belgrade International University Sports Tournament, and the women’s team were this year’s football winners of the University Athletics Association of Kuwait tournament.