London/Mumbai: The global education market is seeing many changes. Universities with international outlook, with strong connections with students and faculty from all over the planet and collaboration on research with leading scholars and departments, remain forefront in global education landscape. Times Higher Education today published the 2017 list of the 150 most international universities in the world. Swiss institutions bagged the two top places in the ranking — which takes into account international reputation for the first time — with ETH Zurich leading École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.
The University of Hong Kong secured third spot while National University of Singapore achieved fourth place and Imperial College London bagged fifth position in the ranking list. The other universities in the top 10 of the ranking list are as followed: University of Oxford (sixth), Australian National University (seventh), University of Cambridge (eighth) and University College London (ninth) and the London School of Economics and Political Science in tenth place.
The ranking of international universities assumes significance as US universities, which dominate the top of most world university rankings, find no place in the top 20 in this list. The Times Higher Education ranking research report highlighted that the list is published against a backdrop of warnings by the Association of American Universities in the US that allowing other nations replace the US as the “prime destination for the most talented students and researchers would cause irreparable damage” and could help competitor nations surpass the US as the global leader in higher education.
Phil Baty, editor of Times Higher Education World University Rankings, said “A university’s global outlook is key to its success on the world stage. The world’s top universities attract undergraduates, postgraduates and faculty from all over the planet and collaborate on research with leading scholars and departments wherever they happen to be based. They also have a brand that is respected both locally and by leading figures spanning the global academy.
Overall 22 countries are represented in the top 150 list. The US only has one institution in the top 30 with Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 22nd place, though it has 64 universities in the ranking overall. Germany and the UK are second and third, respectively with 15 and 13 institutions in the ranking. The United Kingdom has performed well in the ranking with 13 institutions in the ranking, 5 of which are in the top 10.
This Times Higher Education ranking list features the prominence of universities from relatively small, export‐ reliant countries, where English is an official language or is widely spoken. Most countries in the top 10 are big, global trading hubs, conditioned to look beyond their borders for personnel and ideas.
Lino Guzzella, president of ETH Zurich, which tops the list, says: “I know of no top university that does not have a substantial percentage of its faculty, students and workforce that are international. It is simply not possible to achieve high levels of excellence without being open to the world.”
President of the Association of American Universities this week stated that: “Other countries have set the goal of surpassing the United States as the global leader in higher education, research, and innovation. Allowing them to replace this country as the prime destination for the most talented students and researchers would cause irreparable damage, and help them to achieve their goal of global leadership”
Mr Baty also mentioned “The best universities in the world live or die by their ability to attract the brightest talent from all across the world – students, academics, researchers, and managers. I believe that a university simply cannot be world class without a global outlook, a global network and a global pool of talent – and this new data released by Times Higher Education today recognises that.”
“But changing attitudes and policies towards immigration across the world have the potential to profoundly change the flow of global talent and shift the world balance of power. In particular, the US and the UK are currently the world’s most attractive destinations for international students, and their institutions lead the world, in part, as a result of their ability to draw in the brightest and the best. Restrictions to the mobility of academic talent in these countries will inevitably harm their position, while other countries welcome talented immigrants with open arms, and their universities strengthen,” added Mr Baty.
The World’s Most International Universities 2017 (Times Higher Education)
Rank Institution Country
1 ETH Zurich, Switzerland
2 École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland
3 University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
4 National University of Singapore, Singapore
5 Imperial College London , United Kingdom
6 University of Oxford, United Kingdom
7 Australian National University, Australia
8 University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
9 University College London, United Kingdom
10 London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom
11 King’s College London, United Kingdom
12 University of British Columbia, Canada
13 University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
14 University of New South Wales, Australia
15 University of Zurich, Switzerland
16 École Polytechnique, France
17 University of Warwick, United Kingdom
18 University of Melbourne, Australia
19 University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
20 University of Manchester , United Kingdom
21 Monash University, Australia
22 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States
=23 McGill University, Canada,
=23 University of Sydney, Australia
25 University of Auckland, New Zealand
26 Durham University, United Kingdom
27 Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
28 University of York, United Kingdom
=29 University of Bristol, UK
=29 University of Copenhagen, Denmark
