Romanian universities donaa‚¬a„¢t make it to Top 500 by QS World University Rankings

No Romanian university was ranked in the top 500 QS World University Rankings. The best place went to the University of Bucharest. It was ranked between 500 and 550.

QS World University Rankings point to a growing European challenge to the domination of US universities, with leading institutions in the UK, Germany and Switzerland improving their positions. Cambridge took first place from Harvard. It was the first change of leadership in the seven years of these rankings.

The QS Rankings are based on a belief that any university which aspires to be considered world class needs to be strong in four broad areas: research, teaching, graduate employability and internationalization.

Ben Sowter, who heads the research at QS, argues that, because they focus on these four areas, the QS rankings reflect the highly competitive environment of global higher education:

“Unlike other ranking systems which rely heavily on statistical indicators of university research, QS also takes into account the most up-to-date views of employers and academics, reflecting the broader interests of students and parents. And, given the uncertain economic outlook, it is reassuring for students that the top 200 universities are also, by and large, the most popular universities with employers. This suggests that a world-class degree remains the best path to a great job.”

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James Moulder, a retired business school academic who lives in Melbourne, Australia, believes that Romanian universities can improve their rankings:

One thing they could do is to explore the idea of establishing mentoring and coaching relationships with a foreign university that’s ranked significantly higher than they are. Say, between 100 and 300, or even higher.

This would enable Romanian academics to move towards more effective and efficient research and doctoral supervision.

In his words, “It would assist them to acquire more demanding benchmarks in these areas.”