Russia dominates the list of Central and Eastern European academic institutions in the QS World University Rankings 2018 published on June 12, with the region’s top three universities located there and 30 from the country appearing in the overall ranking.
According to the annual ranking by the British education consultancy Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), which compiles the list using six metrics including academic reputation and employer reputation, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology topped the list for the sixth year running, followed by Stanford, Harvard and Caltech – all in the US. Europe entered the list next with the UK’s Cambridge, Oxford, University College London and Imperial College London. In fact, of the top 100 institutions listed, 47 are in the US and the UK, including nine of the top ten.
Emerging markets are starting to feature more prominently on the list, though the report noted that both China and Russia “have scope to grow their international student recruitment”.
“The new QS World University Rankings show China leading the long-predicted rise of Asian universities, while other countries with a focus on their leading universities – such as Russia and South Korea – are also making notable progress,” said John O’Leary, editor of The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide.
Russian universities, the report said, have maintained the progress that they recorded last year, with Lomonosov Moscow State University re-entering the top 100 at 95th spot after an absence of several years. Russia’s top five universities – Lomonosov, St Petersburg State University, Novosibirsk State University, Moscow State Institute of International Relations and National Research Nuclear University – all rose more than 10 places in the latest ranking, it said.
Martin Ince, chair of the Global Academic Advisory Board of the QS World University Rankings, said universities in Russia and China could be beneficiaries of the increase in short-distance international study caused by the rise in hostility to foreigners across Europe and the US. “Most of the foreign students in China, for example, are from nearby countries such as Vietnam. The same goes for Russia, which draws students from the former Soviet nations of Central Asia,” Ince said.
Outside of Russia, the top-rated universities in the region were the Czech Republic’s Charles University at 314th place, down from 302nd spot in the 2017 ranking, and Belarusian State University at 334th, up from 354th spot in 2017.
According to Prague.TV, Charles University spokesman Vaclav Hajek said the drop in the Czech university’s ranking was due to the chronic lack of investment in local higher learning institutions. In June, Czech university rectors sent a letter to the prime minister asking for more funds, according to Hajek.
Czech Technical University in Prague was also in the top 500, ranking 491–500, up from 501–550 in the previous ranking. Other Czech universities to be ranked were Masaryk University at 551–600, Brno University of Technology at 601–650 and Palacky University in Olomouc at 701–750.
Poland had eight universities on the list, with the highest being University of Warsaw ranked at 411-420.
Ukraine also featured prominently with six universities, the highest ranked of which was VN Karazin Kharkiv National University at 401-410. Likewise, Hungary had six universities on the list, with the higest being University of Szeged ranked 501-550.
Below is the complete list of CEE universities in the “QS World University Rankings 2018”:
1. (95) Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia
2. (240) St Petersburg State University, Russia
3. (250) Novosibirsk State University, Russia
4. (314) Charles University, Czechia
5. (334) Belarusian State University, Belarus
6. (373) Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Russia
7. (373) National Research Nuclear University, Russia
8. (382) National Research University Higher School of Economics, Russia
9. (386) National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, Russia
10. (401-410) Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University, Russia
11. (401-410) VN Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ukraine
12. (401-410) Vilnius University, Lithuania
13. (411-420) Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine
14. (411-420) University of Warsaw, Poland
15. (441-450) Kazan Federal University, Russia
16. (461-470) Jagiellonian University, Poland
17. (491-500) Czech Technical University, Czechia
18. (491-500) Ural Federal University, Russia
19. (501-550) National Technical University of Ukraine
20. (501-550) National University of Science and Technology, Russia
21. (501-550) University of Szeged, Hungary
22. (551-600) Masaryk University, Czechia
23. (551-600) National Research Saratov State University, Russia
24. (551-600) Southern Federal University, Russia
25. (551-600) Vilnius Gedeminas Technical University, Lithuania
26. (601-650) Brno University of Technology, Czechia
27. (601-650) Far Eastern Federal University, Russia
28. (601-650) ITMO University, Russia
29. (601-650) Tallinn University of Technology
30. (601-650) University of Zagreb, Croatia
31. (601-650) Warsaw University of Technology
32. (651-700) Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary
33. (651-700) Riga Technical University
34. (651-700) University of Debrecen, Hungary
35. (651-700) University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
36. (651-700) Comenius University in Bratislava
37. (651-700) Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
38. (701-750) Lobachevsky University, Russia
39. (701-750) National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute”, Ukraine
40. (701-750) Palacky University in Olomouc, Czechia
41. (701-750) Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski, Bulgaria
42. (701-750) University of Bucharest, Romania
43. (701-750) University of Latvia, Latvia
44. (751-800) Belarusian National Technical University, Belarus
45. (751-800) Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary
46. (751-800) University of Pecs, Hungary
47. (801-1,000) Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland
48. (801-1,000) AGH University of Science and Technology, Poland
49. (801-1,000) Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, Romania
50. (801-1,000) Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania
51. (801-1,000) Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary
52. (801-1,000) Vasyl’ Stus Donetsk National University, Ukraine
53. (801-1,000) University of Lodz, Poland
54. (801-1,000) Nicolaus Copernicus University, Poland
55. (801-1,000) Novosibirsk State Technical University, Russia
56. (801-1,000) Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Russia
57. (801-1,000) Samara National Research University, Russia
58. (801-1,000) Sumy State University, Ukraine
59. (801-1,000) University of Belgrade, Serbia
60. (801-1,000) University of Maribor, Slovenia
61. (801-1,000) University of Wroclaw, Poland
62. (801-1,000) Voronezh State University, Russia
63. (801-1,000) Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania
64. (801-1,000) West University of Timisoara, Romania
65. (801-1,000) Wroclaw University of Technology, Poland