Mumbai University has moved up six ranks in the QS World University- Asia rankings to secure the 125 position among universities.
According to the latest QS rankings, released on Tuesday, the improvement in the varsity’s rankings can be attributed to the 156% jump in the number of papers by faculty and students published in journals.
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore --- at the 34th position --- is the first Indian institution in the list, which has only three Indian universities in the top 50. National University of Singapore remained the top university in Asia, according to the rankings.
Even as Mumbai University celebrates its rise in ranks, the elite Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have slipped several notches in the Times Higher Education (THE) Asia 2015 index, another ranking conducted by an agency based in the United Kingdom.
While IISc has also topped the THE ranking among Indian universities, taking the 37th position, IIT Delhi has slipped to rank 65 from 59 last year and IIT Kharagpur stood 69th, as against 45th in 2014. IIT Madras also slipped two ranks from last year to rank 78. Only IIT Roorkee has improved its position slightly, moving up four slots to rank 55 in 2015.
Gautam Biswas, director of IIT Guwahati, said that rankings are crucial as they act as indicators on a global scale. “Indian universities are in dire need of autonomy to be able to function at par with universities in China, Japan or USA. Industrial and research collaboration are extremely important factors, where Indian universities also fall behind” he said. He added that rankings are also very volatile and depend on which universities choose to participate in them.
{{/usCountry}}Gautam Biswas, director of IIT Guwahati, said that rankings are crucial as they act as indicators on a global scale. “Indian universities are in dire need of autonomy to be able to function at par with universities in China, Japan or USA. Industrial and research collaboration are extremely important factors, where Indian universities also fall behind” he said. He added that rankings are also very volatile and depend on which universities choose to participate in them.
{{/usCountry}}According to Phil Baty, editor, THE, “It is cause for concern that India has lost ground in the league table: it has one fewer representative this year and most of those that make it have fallen down the list. With the country’s massive numbers of under-25s putting further pressure on educational resources, it is more crucial than ever that India invests in research.”