Record 49 Indian universities among the world's best; IISc tops
According to the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2019, published Wednesday, India saw a record 49 universities being chosen among the world's best. Although none featured in the top 250, India's best universities as per the rankings were led by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, which was placed in the 251-300 ranking bracket. Here are the details.
While IISc Bengaluru remained the top university in India, the newly-established IIT-Indore made its debut, coming second in India. IIT-Indore was placed in the 351-400 ranking bracket, ahead of IIT-Bombay, and IIT-Roorkee, both of which were placed in the 401-500 bracket, along with the private JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research. IITs in Delhi, Kharagpur, and Kanpur were placed in the 501-600 bracket.
While the Savitribai Phule University in Pune also featured in the 501-600 bracket, IITs in Guwahati, Madras, Bhubaneswar, and Hyderabad featured in 601-800 bracket along with Delhi Univerity (DU), Banaras Hindu University (BHU), IISER Pune, Jadavpur University, NIT Rourkela, Panjab University, Tezpur University, and Amrita University. Other notable universities to feature in the global rankings were BITS Pilani, Aligarh Muslim University, KIIT, VIT, etc.
Meanwhile, globally, the University of Oxford was ranked first for the third year in a row. University of Cambridge and Stanford University were ranked second and third respectively. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) climbed one spot to reach fourth rank, while Caltech dropped to fifth. Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Imperial College London, and University of Chicago made up the rest of the top 10 respectively.
The 49 universities featured in the 2019 rankings is a small but important improvement over the inclusion of 42 universities in last year's rankings. However, while the editorial director of the rankings, Phil Baty, said that India was "bursting with innovation and ambition", he noted that most Indian universities had remained static in the list, or had declined owing to global, and Asian competition.
"Sustained investment, a continued drive to attract leading global talent, and a strengthened international outlook will be key to boosting its global reputation and research influence. Its current higher education reforms could be key to helping institutions progress," added Baty.
