The Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru has emerged as the only Indian institute which has featured among the world's top 250 institutes in the coveted Times Higher Education Rankings (THE) 2024. The institute has gained the position in 201-250 band for the first time since 2017 in the THE Rankings.
IISC, Bengaluru, which has held onto the position of being the best Indian institute, was ranked in the 251-300 band in last year's THE Rankings. According to data seen by The Free Press Journal, India has 91 universities in the ranking this year, which is an increase from last year’s 75 and 56 in 2020. There are 20 newly ranked universities from India, which means its participation has increased more than any other country in the rankings.
"Although methodological changes this year have not been kind to some Indian institutions, the overall picture remains positive – with a rise into the top 250 for IISc and several other rising institutions," said Phil Baty, THE’s Chief Global Affairs Officer.
Anna, Jamia also shine in THE Rankings 2024
Anna University, Jamia Millia Islamia, Mahatma Gandhi University, and Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences are next best universities from India in the 501-600 band. Two IITs, the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati and Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) Dhanbad, moved up two bands to join the world’s top 800 universities, from 1001-1200 to 601-800. Similarly, known state and central varsities, Bharathiar University and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) respectively moved to 601-800 band.
“India has well and truly embraced the international agenda, and international competition, with an unprecedented 91 universities making it into the rigorous and demanding Times Higher Education World University Rankings this year – making India now the fourth best represented nation in the rankings," added Baty.
More universities, performance indicators
With 1,904 universities participating in this year's rankings, compared to 1799 last year, THE has also increased the number of performance indicators to 18 from 13. They are grouped in five pillars: teaching, research quality, research environment, international outlook and industry. Four of the five new metrics include three that look at research quality and one that examines patents in the industry pillar.
The National Education Policy (NEP), introduced in 2020, can also become a game changer for India's performance in future THE rankings, according to Baty.
“The bold and ambitious National Education Policy reforms implemented by Prime Minister Modi, including more internationalisation and the development of a deeper research base across India, bode very well for future success in Times Higher Education’s gold-standard rankings,” asserted Baty.
IITs give THE Rankings a miss three years in a row
Though IISC and many other renowned Indian varsities made their mark in the rankings, major IITs in the form of IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IIT Delhi, etc have given it a miss despite meetings between THE representatives and IIT officials to address the latter's concerns over performance parameters.
Several IITs, including Delhi, Bombay, Madras, Kanpur, Kharagpur, and Roorkee have not participated in THE University rankings since releasing a joint statement in June 2020, when they mentioned 'lack of transparency' being one of the major reasons behind not participating in the coveted annual rankings, as reported by The FPJ in October 2022.
The UK’s University of Oxford is the highest ranked university in the world in the 2024 rankings with Stanford University taking second place, making it the US’s top ranked university, and in third place is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The US is the most-represented country overall, with 169 institutions, and is the most-represented in the top 200 with 56 varsities. With 91 institutions, India is now the fourth most-represented nation, overtaking China (86), which has Tsinghua University (12) as its top-ranked institute.
