Best Dutch university is the University of Amsterdam (place 55) followed by Delft (57). The two have exchanged a penny, in recent years Delft has always been number one. Ten Dutch universities are in the top 200, three - including UM - are just outside that list and Tilburg University is a bit lower in 356th place.
Traditionally, the American MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Oxford, Standford, Cambridge and Harvard lead the way. Best Asian university is National University of Singapore (11). In total there are 1300 universities on the list.
Half of the ranking is based on the reputation of the universities, according to 130 thousand researchers (40 percent) and 75 thousand employers (10 percent). In addition, the citation scores of research groups (20 percent) count, but also the number of students per teacher (20 percent), the number of international teachers (5 percent) and the number of international students (also 5 percent).
Controversial
The QS Ranking, together with the Times Higher Education and Shanghai Ranking, is one of the most important (international) university rankings. Rankings are controversial. Why should the reputation of institutions weigh so heavily, for whom are these rankings actually intended, and who are the researchers who give their opinion?
Moreover, according to critics, rankings encourage scoring drive and cleverness, while relevant research into, for example, local problems or rare diseases does not always translate into a high position in the rankings. And sometimes the criteria are politically sensitive. For example, the proportion of international students is also a measure in the QS ranking, while by no means everyone in academia welcomes the unbridled growth of international students.
Proponents
However, the proponents believe that the rise or fall of universities in the world rankings says something. A place higher or lower may not matter, but foreign talent simply likes to choose institutions with a good reputation. Moreover, it somewhat shows which countries are on the rise with their research.
Riki Janssen/Bas Belleman