The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru continued to lead as the country's top institution in the latest Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2021, with India seeing record 63 institutions qualifying for the rankings, with an additional 14 universities qualifying since last year, more than any other country or region.
Following IISc, which was ranked globally in the 301-350 band, are Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar and IIT Indore which retained second and third spots among Indian institutions in the list.
India also recorded the highest number of new entrants since 2020 at 14 institutions, more than any other country or region in the 2021 ranking. Bringing the total number of ranked Indian universities to 63, this gives India a record number of entrants in the THE World University Rankings.
Of the debutant Indian institutions to qualify in this year’s rankings, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi, King George‘s Medical University, and Mahatma Gandhi University rank 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 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 much as other countries. However, Baty stated that the recent announcement of the New Education Policy, the first of its kind since 1986, could be a great 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. 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," Baty added.
The THE World University Rankings are based on 13 separate performance metrics covering the full range of core activities for research-intensive 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 top spot for the fifth consecutive year, China's Tsinghua University becomes the first ever 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 qualifying this year, a 9% increase from the 2020 rankings when 1,397 institutions qualified.
Times Higher Education (THE), has today announced the results of its World University Rankings 2021, which underline the shifting strength of higher education and research around the world. India records its highest ever number of universities to qualify in the rankings (63), as the UK’s University of Oxford retains top spot for the 5th consecutive year. Elsewhere, US domination of the top 10 masks wider decline, and mainland
Meanwhile, 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), is highest ranked new entrant in this year’s ranking. There is also a first ever entrant for Botswana: the University of Botswana (1001+).