29 of top 64 Indian varsities slip in this year’s global rankings

The Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) – publisher of the largest academic ranking of global universities – has drawn attention to the rise of academia in China and inadequate research funding in India in its 2023 report.Analysing 62 million outcome-based data points across 20,531 universities this year, it has based its findings on four factors: quality of education (25%), employability (25%), quality of faculty (10%), and research performance (40%).The good news is that 64 Indian universities, led by the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad, feature on the list. On the downside, Indian institutions are struggling to keep their place, just as up to 80% of American universities and 60% of those in the UK have slid from their ranks due to intensified global competition from well-funded institutions, particularly those in China.Mixed Bag For IndiaIn CWUR’s ‘Global 2000’ report, 32 universities from India improved from last year and three kept their places, but 29 dropped in the rankings. Not a single Indian university is among the top 10 in Asia. The main factor for the decline of nearly half of the Indian universities is research performance amid intensified global competition from well-funded institutions.While IIM-A rose two spots to 419th place, it declined in the quality of education indicator. Indian Institute of Science fell three spots to 491, while Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay climbed 10 spots to 554th, ahead of IIT-Madras at number 570. Tata Institute of Fundamental Research was at the 580th position. The Indian top 10 is rounded off by IIT-Delhi (607), University of Delhi (621), IIT-Kharagpur (721), Panjab University (759), and IIT-Kanpur (823).Medium108409671 Harvard Stays On TopFor the 12th year in a row, Harvard University has topped Global 2000, followed by two other private US institutions – MIT and Stanford. While the UK’s Cambridge and Oxford – ranking fourth and fifth, respectively – are the world’s top public higher education institutions. The rest of the global top 10 are again private US universities: Princeton, Chicago, Columbia, Pennsylvania and Yale.America Has Reason To WorryThe US, despite claiming eight of the top 10 places globally, is struggling to maintain its dominance, with nearly 80% of American universities slipping. In the Global 2000, only 49 US institutions improved from last year, 21 maintained their positions, and 262 dropped down. All Ivy League institutions feature in the global top 70 this year. The top US public university is Berkeley, ranking 12th worldwide, one spot behind Caltech. Overall, the US is the most represented country with 332 institutions – three less than last year. Canada has 40 institutions in the table, led by the University of Toronto at number 23.Medium108409672 Europe Loses GroundEurope remains a power player with 640 institutions in the top 2000, but the overall picture is grim. In the UK, Cambridge and Oxford’s success masks the decline of nearly 60% of the institutions. Only 32 universities improved from last year, while six maintained their positions and 55 slipped. Of Russell Group’s 24 research-intensive universities, six rank higher than last year, four have maintained their spots, and 14 rank lower. Overall, the UK has 93 representatives – one less than last year – in the Global 2000.France has five universities in the top 50 – two less than the UK. The top French institution for the fourth year in a row is PSL University, ranking 21st worldwide. Only 18 French institutions fare better than last year, with one maintaining its spot, and 57 slipping down the rankings. In all, France has 76 institutions – one less than last year – among the world’s best 2,000 universities.Germany has 69 institutions in the table this year, led by the University of Munich at number 46. The country sees a sharp overall drop in the rankings, with 59 universities declining.Russia has 43 representatives in the Global top 2,000 – one more than last year – with 14 institutions moving up, two maintaining their positions, and 27 falling in the rankings. The top Russian university this year is Moscow State University, ranking 217th worldwide.The top 10 universities in Europe this year are: Cambridge (UK, 4th), Oxford (UK, 5th), UCL (UK, 19th), PSL (France, 21st), Imperial College (UK, 29th), ETH Zurich (Switzerland, 30th), Paris Saclay (France, 32nd), Copenhagen (Denmark, 35th), Karolinska Institute (Sweden, 38th), and Paris City University (France, 39th).Japan Leads AsiaIt is a mixed picture for Asia. China’s rapid rise in the standings is due to the country’s continued investment in higher education, especially under the Double First-Class University Plan. Ninety-six percent of Chinese universities rank better than last year, led by Tsinghua University at number 44. All nine institutions of the C9 League, the Chinese version of the US Ivy League, saw improvements this year. In total, China has 314 representatives among the world’s top 2,000 universities, up from 302 a year ago. While the University of Tokyo is still Asia’s highest ranked institution – ranking 13th worldwide – 86% of Japan’s 114 representatives lost ground this year as a result of the government’s low expenditure on tertiary education in prior years.The top 10 universities in Asia this year are: Tokyo (Japan, 13th), Kyoto (Japan, 27th), Seoul National University (South Korea, 31st), Tsinghua (China, 44th), Peking (China, 49th), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (China, 55th), Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel, 70th), Shanghai Jiao Tong (China, 74th), National University of Singapore (Singapore, 81st), and Zhejiang (China, 85th).