India’s 32 institutions ascend, 33 slip in global rankings: CWUR

A total of 65 Indian universities and institutes, with the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad at the forefront, have earned places among the top 2000 globally, according to the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR). However, there’s concern about India's diminishing competitiveness in higher education internationally. In the 2024 edition of the Global 2000 list by CWUR, 32 Indian institutions moved up in rankings while 33 experienced a decline.

The comprehensive yearly ranking, now in its thirteenth iteration, identifies the top 2000 universities from a pool of 20,966 institutions evaluated, marking it as the most extensive academic ranking of worldwide universities.

The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A), the top-ranked institute in India, achieved a global rank of 410, up from 419 last year. Following closely were the (Indian Institute of Science) IISc (501) and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (568).

These rankings are determined by analysing 62 million outcome-based data points across four criteria: education quality, employability, faculty quality, and research. Seven out of India's top 10 institutes experienced a decline in their rankings, including IISc (from (494 to 501), (Indian Institute of Technology) IIT-Bombay (554 to 568), IIT-Madras (570 to 582), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (580 to 606), IIT Delhi (607 to 616), Delhi University (621 to 622), and Panjab University (759 to 823). However, some institutes  improved their standings like IIT Kharagpur (from 721 to 704) and the Academy of Scientific & Innovative Research (866 to 798).

The world's top 10 universities as per global rankings: 

• Harvard University, USA (Rank 1)

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA (Rank 2)

• Stanford University, USA (Rank 3)

• University of Cambridge, UK (Rank 4)

• University of Oxford, UK (Rank 5)

• Princeton University, USA (Rank 6)

• Columbia University, USA (Rank 7)

• University of Pennsylvania, USA (Rank 8)

• Yale University, USA (Rank 9)

• California Institute of Technology, USA (Rank 10)

Nadim Mahassen, president of CWUR, noted the increasing pressure on India's education standing globally, despite a 24% growth in scientific research over the past five years not translating into similar success in higher education.

This trend is mirrored in other countries like the US, where although eight of the top ten spots are held, there's a struggle to maintain dominance. Similarly, the UK, Germany, and China all have nuances in their rankings, reflecting various challenges and investments in education and research.

Only 90 institutions in the US saw improvements in the Global 2000 rankings compared to last year, while 23 maintained their positions, and 216 saw a decline.

Similarly, in the United Kingdom (UK), only 28 universities improved their standings, with seven maintaining their positions, and 57 slipping in the rankings.

Germany, with 69 institutions listed, experienced an overall drop in rankings despite the University of Munich leading at number 46, as 55 universities declined.

Conversely, in China, a striking 95% of universities showed improvement from last year, with Tsinghua University ranking at number 43.