Warwick ranked world’s 3rd fastest rising young university

The University of Warwick is the world’s 3rd fastest rising university under 50 years old, and the fastest-rising in the UK, according to the Times Higher Education (THE).

THE magazine published a 15-strong shortlist of universities which had risen the most in higher education rankings since 2011.

Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, founded in 1991, ranked first having risen a staggering 108 places to 61st in a few years. Maastricht University in the Netherlands came in second, with a rise of 94 places to 101st , followed by Warwick University in a distant third place, having risen 54 places to 103rd in last October’s rankings.

The rankings are calculated based on the universities’ performance in three key areas:

1. Citation impact: how frequently are the university’s researchers cited in papers by other academics? This is the measure put in place for the impact of a University’s research in academic circles.
2. Income from industry: how much are firms working with the university to apply its academic research in real world processes. This is effectively the usability and extent of application of a university’s research.
3. International outlook: how many international staff and students does the university attract, and to what extent does it collaborate with universities in other countries on research? This includes both the university’s international reputation and involvement with institutions abroad.

As the University of Warwick celebrates its 50th birthday this year, this is the last time it will qualify for the Young University rankings.

Of the top 7 in this ranking, 4 are European Universities and the other 3 Asian. Editor of THE rankings, Phil Baty, said:

“With strong leadership, clear focus – and let’s be honest, serious financial backing – these seven rising stars have shown that what others have developed over centuries can be achieved in a matter of decades.

“They are a truly exciting and dynamic group of institutions which should serve as a lesson to the rest of the world – that the traditional global world order is not unassailable and visionary young universities can break through.”

The top 7 were as follows:

The rankings are to be analysed in full at the THE summit in Dublin at the end of April.