The prestigious world ranking THE World University Rankings 2022 includes as many as 60 universities in Russia: this is a record number for the entire time of compiling the ranking. In total, there are 1662 universities from 99 countries of the world in the list.
Who are the Russian leaders?
Namber van in Russia is the Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU), and he has been leading for a long time. He rose as much as 16 points and in the fresh ranking of the 158th (for him this position is also a record), the only representative of Russia in the TOP-200.
Also included in the list:
- Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) = 201-250
- Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University = 301-350
- National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE) 301-350
- National Research Nuclear University "MEPhI" = 401-500
- St. Petersburg Mining University = 401-500
- Plekhanov Russian University of Economics = 501-600
- Don State Technical University = 501-600
- Tomsk State University = 601-800
- National Research Technological University (MISIS) = 601-800
- ITMO University = 601-800
- Peoples' Friendship University of Russia = 601-800
- St. Petersburg State University = 601-800
- Moscow State University of Civil Engineering = 601-800.
By the way, among the 60 Russian universities included in the ranking, 12 are debutants, among which the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics and the Don State Technical University were best noted.
Where does this success come from and what needs to be done to rise even higher?
The rankings were expected to be strongly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic: many universities have significantly improved their citation scores due to the increase in COVID-19 research. For example, I. M. Sechenov University has improved its citation index from 8.5 to 28.9 since 2020!
The editor-in-chief of the ranking, Phil Beaty, told what Russian universities need to pay attention to in order to continue moving up:
- MSU continues to demonstrate an excellent academic reputation, strengthens ties with business and industry (and this is a very important indicator in the modern world), but it is necessary to increase the citation of scientific articles. The last problem is typical for most Russian universities.
- It is necessary to strengthen and expand work with international partners and foreign colleagues: this will help improve both the quality of research and the citation index.
- It is necessary to increase funding: according to Beaty, Russia in this aspect needs to take an example from China, whose policy gives excellent results.
- National educational projects — for example, "5-100" (increasing the global competitiveness of universities, completed in 2021), work well. We are waiting for the first results of "Priority-2030": a new government program, which is aimed at teaching, citation and research in the first place.
Who is the best overall?
Traditionally, on the first 200 lines are located universities:
- USA = 57 universities
- Great Britain = 28
- Germany = 22
- Australia = 12
- Netherlands and China = 10 universities each
- Russia is on the 26th place in terms of the number of universities included.
TOP-10 universities:
- University of Oxford,UK (for the sixth year in a row!)
- Caltech
- Harvard, USA (shares second place with California Tech)
- Stanford, USA
- Cambridge, United Kingdom
- MIT, USA (shares fifth place with Cambridge)
- Princeton, USA
- University of California, Berkeley, USA
- Yale University, USA
- University of Chicago, USA
The role of universities from China is significantly increasing, and for several years in a row. In 2022, China also set a record for the presence of its universities in the ranking:
- 10 universities in the TOP-200
- 97 universities in the overall ranking
- Peking University and Tsinghua University share the prestigious 16th place.
What is taken into account when compiling the ranking?
THE World University Rankings focuses on 13 criteria, which are divided into 5 groups, for example:
- Citation of scientific articles
- Contribution to innovation
- Income from research activities
- Quality of teaching
- The degree of globality of the university, its ability to attract the best employees and students (including foreign ones).
