Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) in Islamabad has achieved the prestigious distinction of being ranked as Pakistan’s top university in the Times World University Rankings 2024, clinching the 401st spot globally.
The Times World University Rankings are crafted through THE's WUR 3.0 methodology, evaluating institutions based on 18 meticulously calibrated performance indicators, spanning five key areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry engagement, and international outlook.
The highly anticipated annual rankings encompassed 1,904 universities across 108 countries and regions.
Among these criteria, Quaid-i-Azam University notably achieved the 227th position for research quality.
While Quaid-e-Azam University led the charge for Pakistan, 14 other institutions also made notable appearances.
These included Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Air University, Capital University of Science and Technology (CUST), COMSATS University Islamabad, UET Taxila, GC University Faisalabad, and NUST, which all ranked within the 601-800 range.
Further down the rankings, institutions like Bahria University, International Islamic University Islamabad, Islamia College Peshawar, University of Lahore, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), University of Malakand, University of Management and Technology, University of the Punjab, Institute of Space Technology, and University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Lahore secured positions in the 801-1000 range.
However, it is essential to note that while 49 Pakistani universities were recognized in the rankings, they were categorized as "reporter" institutions, signifying that they provided the necessary data but did not meet the eligibility criteria to receive a specific rank.
This year's World University Rankings by THE involved extensive analysis, with over 134 million citations from 16.5 million research papers, alongside survey responses from 68,402 scholars worldwide.
A total of 411,789 data points were gathered from more than 2,673 participating institutions, making it one of the most comprehensive and reputable assessments of global higher education institutions.
As per rankings, the University of Oxford retains the number one position, while the US occupies seven of the top 10 spots.
The average rank of universities in China, Australia and Canada has also improved – from 635 to 502; 322 to 282; and 349 to 337, respectively.
China now has 13 universities in the top 200 – up from seven in 2020 – with each of them improving their ranking significantly.
Moreover, a THE study of six years of data shows that the average rank of US universities has declined from 296 in the 2019 edition to 348 in the latest table. UK’s average rank has also dropped, from 451 to 477.
Furthermore, Indian universities suffered a drop of 14 positions in the ranking.
