Warwick ranked as 17th most international university in the world

Warwick has been ranked as the 17th most international university in the world in a newly published table by Times Higher Education.

Several factors are taken into account in ranking the schools, including the percentage of international students and staff, the number of journal publications with at least one international co-author, and its international reputation.

Top in the ranking are ETH Zurich and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, both from Switzerland, followed by the University of Hong Kong and National University of Singapore.

This new table follows a continuation in the worldwide trend of internationalisation in higher education. In a 2015 survey conducted by the European University Association, 69% of staff in 46 countries indicated that they believed internationalisation was highly important to their institution.

The drive for institutes of higher education to become more internationalised has been driven among other things by a desire to raise the quality of teaching and learning, as well as to prepare students for an increasingly global world.

Warwick’s high ranking reflects the University’s commitment to secure its global position and expand its international reach. Currently, one-third of students and one-fifth of staff are from countries other than the UK.

To secure Warwick’s global position is one of the goals in the University’s Looking Forward plan, through strategies such as developing alliances and partnerships with international institutions and expanding in strategic locations.

Primary amongst these is the Monash Warwick Alliance. Launched in 2012, it brings together two top universities and expands the scope and scale of research conducted by researchers in both institutions and was recently extended for another five years.

Thirteen of the top thirty most international universities are in the UK, and the country also boasts the highest percentage of international students of all countries in the top 150 table.

However, Brexit has raised concerns about possible decreased attractiveness of UK universities for international students, as well as lower research funding, which could jeopardise the internationalisation of its universities.

Nevertheless, Warwick remains committed to expanding its international reach through its Looking Forward action plan.