uniThe Centre for World University Rankings (CWUR) has released the 2016 ranking of universities, and no Ghanaian university made it into the top 1,000 most influential universities in the world. 

Harvard University in the United States topped the list, followed by Stanford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in second and third positions.

The University of Cambridge and University of Oxford, both in the United Kingdom, came fourth and fifth respectively.

The Centre for World University Rankings (CWUR) publishes the only global university ranking that measures the quality of education and training of students, as well as the prestige of the faculty members and the quality of their research without relying on surveys and university data submissions.

Ten universities in Africa made the list of 1,000 World University Rankings 2016. They comprise five universities from South Africa, four from Egypt and one from Uganda.

In Africa, five universities from South Africa occupy the first five positions.

University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa topped Africa but placed 176 in the world, followed by University of Cape Town at second position in Africa and 265th position in the world.

Stellenbosch University in South Africa came third in Africa but 329th in the world.

University of KwaZulu-Natal placed fourth in Africa and 467th in the world while University of Pretoria, also of South Africa, placed 5th and 697th in the world.

Egypt’s Cairo University came sixth in Africa and 771st while Makerere University of Uganda placed seventh in Africa and 846th in the world.

In eighth position in Africa is Ain Shams University of Egypt, which placed 960th in the world, followed by Mansoura University of Egypt in 9th position in Africa and 985th in the world while Alexandria University was 10th in Africa and 995th in the world.

Ranking indicators

CWUR uses eight objective and robust indicators to rank the world's top 1,000 universities:

1. Quality of Education, measured by the number of a university's alumni who have won major international awards, prizes and medals relative to the university's size (25%).

2. Alumni Employment, measured by the number of a university's alumni who have held CEO positions at the world's top companies relative to the university's size (25%).

3. Quality of Faculty, measured by the number of academics who have won major international awards, prizes and medals (25%).

4. Publications, measured by the number of research papers appearing in reputable journals (5%).

5. Influence, measured by the number of research papers appearing in highly-influential journals (5%).

6. Citations, measured by the number of highly-cited research papers (5%).

7. Broad Impact, measured by the university's h-index (5%).

8. Patents, measured by the number of international patent filings (5%).

Since 2014, the CWUR ranking expanded to list the top 1,000 out of 25,000+ degree-granting institutions of higher education worldwide, making it the largest academic ranking of global universities.

University of Ghana ranks high

The University of Ghana was recently ranked seventh best in Africa, according to the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings.

The Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings announced Africa’s best universities in the recently published World University Rankings.

“University of Ghana is now at the 7th position in the whole of Africa, making Ghana’s premier university the topmost university in the West African sub-region, and indeed at the national level”, a statement issued by the university’s Director of Public Affairs, Stella A. Amoa.

University of Cape Town, once again, hit the top position while Uganda’s Makerere University is the only institution outside South Africa to make the list of top five at fourth place.

In June this year, the Thompson Reuters rankings placed the University of Ghana at the 10th position among tertiary institution on the African continent.

The continued upward mobility of the University of Ghana in world rankings is an attestation of the university’s quest to become a world-class research intensive university over the next decade.

Source: peacefmonline