Dutch universities still do well in the British Times Higher Education rankings, but are falling behind. China is on the rise.
According to the British ranking, ten Dutch universities are among the top two hundred in the world. Manufacturers measure the success of universities based on, among other things, scientific performance, reputation, and the number of students per teacher.
Just like last year, Wageningen University is the hot favorite in the Netherlands: it moves up from 62nd to 53rd. The University of Amsterdam follows at 65th. Eindhoven University of Technology is now outside the top 200, as are Tilburg and Twente.
Globally, the Netherlands continues to do remarkably well: only the United States, Great Britain, Germany and Australia have more universities in the top 200 list. Besides the Netherlands, China ranks itself in the country rankings with ten institutions in the top 200 universities. Moreover.
The University of Oxford in Britain is ranked number one for the sixth time in a row. But US universities still dominate the rankings, with eight universities in the top ten and 57 mega institutions in the top 200.
Shanghai ranking
The Shanghai Ranking was also announced recently. Nine Dutch universities were among the top 200 in the world. The University of Utrecht scored the highest Dutch institution with a place at number 50.
Rankings like this are “certainly not the best”, says VSNU Board Chairman Peter Duisenberg, “but they give an international indication of what we stand for”. According to him, the sinking of the Netherlands highlights why politicians allocate an additional 1.1 billion euros annually to scientific education. Holland still participates in the summit, “but for how long,” he wonders.
At the same time, Duisenberg wants to put the ratings into perspective. “There is a relatively high focus on indicators such as the number of publications and the impact of citation,” he says. University administrators want to be “recognized and recognized” differently and not just focus on scholarly accomplishments. They want to pay more attention, for example, to education, patient care and leadership.
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