Varsities try to climb global ranks

Hyderabad: The Centre is focusing on getting Indian institutions listed on the acclaimed QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) World University Rankings.

Seven institutions from India — IISc-Bangalore and IITs in Delhi, Bombay, Madras, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Roorkee and Guwahati — made it to the top-500 of the 2016 global rankings.

The Indian Institute of Science-Bangalore was ranked as the best in the country, but was placed 152 in the global list covering 140 countries.

The QS World University Rankings are compiled in close consultation with an international advisory board of leading academics. The rankings are widely referenced by prospective and current students, university professionals and governments around the world.

The seven IITs were given a target to take steps to break into the top-100. The Centre asked each IIT to send proposals so that assistance could be given in this project.

The rankings are based on six distinctive indicators — academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty/student ratio, citations per faculty, international faculty, and international students.

Lack of a sufficient number of international students used to be a big disadvantage for IITs, but this aspect is going to be covered from 2017 in wake of JEE and GATE — entrance exams for UG and PG courses in engineering and other streams — being held in a few foreign countries.

From the Telugu speaking states, IIT-Hyderabad and Andhra University did not make it to the global institutions list, but figured in the QS Asia rankings.

IIT-Hyderabad was ran-ked 231-240 and AU, 301-350. Osmania University, which did not apply last year, has decided to give top priority to the global ranks category along with teh National Institutional Ranking Framework of the Union human resou-rce development ministry.