In a first, four MU depts feature in QS world university rankings

The QS World University Rankings by Subject identifies the world's strongest universities in 46 individual subject areas

While global university rankings often give the University of Mumbai (MU) a miss, for the first time, four university departments — mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, chemistry and pharmacy and pharmacology — have featured in the prestigious Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject.

The University of Mumbai has never made it before to top 500 universities listed by QS World University Ranking every year.

The QS World University Rankings by Subject identifies the world's strongest universities in 46 individual subject areas. It is different from QS World University Rankings, which rank universities based on their overall performance.

The University of Mumbai has never made it to top 500 universities listed by QS World University Ranking every year, although it came close in 2014 when it was ranked in the 551+ ranking category. For the past two years, it was placed in the 701+ ranking category.

However, thanks to the four subjects, the university features among the top 500 institutes for the first time. The university's chemical engineering department, placed in the 201-250 category, leads the pack, followed by Pharmacy and Pharmacology department, which has been placed in the 251-300 category. Mechanical Engineering and Chemistry departments have been placed in the 351-400 and 451-500 categories respectively.

The latest edition features 46 subjects, four more than the previous year. QS evaluates indicators such as academic reputation, employer reputation and citations per paper published by the department.

The teachers from the featured departments attributed their success to rise in research work, practical training to students and an up-to-date curriculum.

"The mechanical engineering curriculum is among the best at MU. It has been aligned to the outcome-based model, which clearly defines what students should learn at the end of the semester. Besides, for the past five to six years, we have increased the research, with more faculty publishing papers," said Siddhapa Khot, chairman, board of studies in mechanical engineering.

"The syllabus of chemical engineering has been updated by taking inputs from the industry. The students regularly go for industrial visits and do internships," said Kalpana Deshmukh, chairman, board of studies in chemical engineering.