London: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland tops the Young University Rankings released by Times Higher Education (THE). Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong bags second rank while Nanyang Technological University, Singapore secures third spot among global young universities. THE has yesterday (06 April 2017) published the Young University Rankings which lists the world’s 200 best universities that are 50 years old or younger, across 48 countries.

The ranking, which includes 200 institutions for the first time (up from 150 last year), is topped by Switzerland’s École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, for the third year in a row. Universities in Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy also feature in the top 10 while there is strong representation from Australia, France and Spain across the ranking.

Pohang University of Science and Technology comes fourth while Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology is placed fifth, and Maastricht University sixth. These younger universities offer a very different perspective on global higher education excellence from the THE World University Rankings, which are dominated by institutions from the US and UK.

The UK is the most represented nation in the ranking with 27 universities, closely followed by Australia with 23. France, Spain, Germany and Italy come next with 16, 15, 11 and 10 institutions, respectively.

Phil Baty the editor of the Times Higher Education rankings, said: “It is no easy task to appear in the 2017 Young University Rankings, which use the same 13 rigorous and demanding performance indicators as the overall World University Rankings. Institutions must demonstrate high standards of performance across teaching, research, international outlook and knowledge transfer.”

“The sixth annual edition of this celebration of the world’s best young universities shows that rising higher education stars are found worldwide. Switzerland is home to the world’s top young university for the third year in a row while institutions in Hong Kong and South Korea are rapidly rising up the table.

“While the US dominates the World University Rankings, it claims less than 3 per cent of places in this young top 200. Even the most-represented nation in the table, the UK, only takes 13.5 per cent of positions. The result is that universities from 48 countries across Europe, Australasia, Asia, North America and Latin America make the table. This means the list represents a wider range of countries than any other THE ranking, except the flagship world rankings.”

On the Asian institutions’ performance, Phil Baty the editor of the Times Higher Education rankings, said: “This year’s list of the world’s best young universities provides fantastic news for Asia. Half of the top 10 places are led by Asian universities – the best result for the continent since the rankings began in 2012. Overall, more than a quarter (55) of the top 200 places are filled by universities from across 18 Asian countries.

“Universities in Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong lead the continent’s representatives, but there are success stories elsewhere in the region too. Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz University leaps from 45th to 25th, while Turkey’s Sabancı University jumps from joint 52nd to 44th.

“The expansion of the ranking to include 200 institutions, from 150 last year, also means that Oman and Thailand make their debut in this list.”

List of Top Ranked Young Universities as per THE