The world’s TOP universities: Three SA institutions make the cut

The University of Oxford has been crowned the world’s number one university for a sixth consecutive year in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

The ranking is based on assessments of 1 662 universities from 99 countries and includes an analysis of 108 million citations from 14.4 million research publications.

Second on the list is Harvard University then the University of California. Other institutions included are Stanford, Princeton, Yale, Massachusetts University of Technology, University of California and University of Chicago.

“This past year has demonstrated to our publics, our governments, and even to ourselves just how much universities can contribute to society. The vaccine Oxford developed is being distributed in over 170 countries and over a billion doses have been manufactured. Together our universities have made the strongest possible case for renewed public investment in research universities,” Oxford University’s Louise Richardson told Times Higher Education.

SA universities ranked amongst the best

According to the rankings, released on Thursday, 2 September 2021, the University of Cape Town is the leading learning institution on the continent, claiming the 183rd spot. This was then followed by Stellenbosch University at 251 then Wits University, which was also at position 251 but with slightly fewer points.

The University of Stellenbosch’s Prof Hester Klopper says it is gratifying that the institution continues garnering international praise.

“Stellenbosch University’s consistent performance on the THE World Universities Rankings bodes well for the institution’s vision of being ‘Africa’s leading research-intensive university, globally recognised as excellent, inclusive and innovative, where we advance knowledge in service of society’,” Klopper said.

“What is even more encouraging is that SU managed to improve on most of the indicators used by THE World Universities Rankings. This is no mean feat taking into account the pandemic and especially the challenges faced by universities in emerging economies.”