QS World University Rankings 2012-13

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Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) takes the top spot as Indian frustration continues with the release of QS World University Rankings 2012-13. India remains the only BRICS nation without a university in the Top 200 of the QS World Rankings 2012-13. Two of the leading three institutions, IIT Delhi (212) and IIT Kanpur (278), have improved on their 2011 position. Yet the comparison with other BRICS nations remains unflattering.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts–based research powerhouse is propelled to the top spot by its superior citation rates and student/faculty ratio, alongside an increase in international faculty. Harvard University slips to third, having topped the table every year between 2004 and 2009.

China has seven top-200 institutions led by Peking University (44), while Russia’s Lomonosov Moscow State University (112), Brazil’s University of Sao Paolo (139), and South Africa’s University of Cape Town (154) all retain a significant advantage.

Global Top 10

2012	2011	Institution
1	3	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
2	1	University of Cambridge
3	2	Harvard University
4	7	UCL (University College London)
5	5	University of Oxford
6	6	Imperial College London
7	4	Yale University
8	8	University of Chicago
9	13	Princeton University
10	12	California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

 

Leading Indian institutions

212	218	Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD)
227	225	Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB)
278	306	Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK)
312	281	Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM)
349	341	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IITKGP)
425	438	Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IITR)
441	398	University of Delhi
572	578	University of Mumbai
576	563	Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG)
661=	649	University of Calcutta
702	661	University of Pune

“The rise of MIT coincides with a global shift in emphasis toward science and technology”, says QS head of research Ben Sowter. “MIT perfects a blueprint that is now being followed by a new wave of cutting-edge tech-focused institutions, especially in Asia”.

The sluggish progress of the IITs contrasts with that of technical universities in general. Nine of the top 10 tech-focused universities improve their position, led by MIT, Imperial College (6), Caltech (10) and ETH Zurich (13). Korea’s KAIST (63) is the biggest riser in the top 100, while Hong Kong’s HKUST (33) and Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (47) continue their rapid ascent.

“The positive aspect of these rankings for the IITs is that they have improved their scores for research citations, and remain very popular among global employers”, states Sowter. “Yet this also comes with a flipside: the fact that so many international employers target IIT graduates may also reflect the ongoing brain drain that sees so much of India’s top talent leaving the country.”

A record 72 countries are featured in the top 700, following a rapid acceleration in international mobility. The top 100 universities average nearly 10% more international students than in 2011, the biggest single-year increase in the rankings’ nine-year history.

Sowter states: “The unprecedented acceleration in international recruitment reflects an escalating global battle for talent. 120,000 more international students were reported by the top 500 universities this year, suggesting the global total may now exceed 4 million”.

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