DCU top-placed Irish institution in latest young universities league table

30/04/2015

The latest league table of world top young universities reveals that DCU has jumped almost 20 places to become the highest ranked higher education institution in the country. The Times Higher Education (THE) 100 Under 50, an analysis of the world’s top 100 universities established since 1965, has placed DCU joint 75th with Australia’s LaTrobe University. DCU is the only Irish university to have featured in the THE 100 Under 50 every year since its inception in 2011.

The Rankings, launched as part of the THE Young Universities Summit hosted this year by DCU on Wednesday 29th and Thursday 30th April, highlight a new cohort of global universities with the potential to become the next generation’s Harvard or Oxford. Twenty-eight countries are represented in this table of rising global higher education stars, providing unique insights into the nations poised to challenge the traditional Anglo-American dominance of the sector. East Asian institutions continue to dominate the top ranks of the 100 Under 50 with universities from South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore claiming four of the top five positions.

Phil Baty, Times Higher Education Rankings Editor explained,

“Although Ireland’s old guard are struggling to make their mark in the traditional World University Rankings, two of its young institutions have made this forward-looking list - encouraging news for the nation. While Dublin Institute of Technology has held steady, Dublin City University has leapt from joint 92nd to joint 75th. DCU’s dynamism and determination to make its mark globally is demonstrated by its decision to host Times Higher EDucation’s 2015 Young Universities Summit, which will put it at the heart of the debate about how new institutions can best compete with rivals that have had centuries to develop.”

The THE 100 Under 50 uses the same list of 13 performance indicators across the areas of research, teaching, knowledge transfer and international activity, that underpin the prestigious THE World University Rankings but employs a specially recalibrated methodology to better the characteristics of young institutions - giving less weight to subjective reputation measures and placing more emphasis on hard, objective metrics.”

Professor Brian MacCraith, President of DCU welcomed the new rankings,

“We are delighted with our performance in this year’s 100 Under 50 rankings which reflects a sustained commitment to teaching excellence, focussing our research on pressing world problems and engagement with community and industry, both nationally and globally. A reconfiguration of our research strategy has focussed on tangible outputs in the areas of connected health, digital society, sustainable economies and democratic societies, deepening a strong tradition of collaboration with industry and international academic partners. All of this is underpinned by the dedication of our academic and research staff who deliver an exceptional student learning experience, informed and enhanced by real world engagement.”

The THE Young Universities Summit 2015 at DCU brings together leaders and leading thinkers from some of the most dynamic, innovative and distinctive young universities worldwide to share best practice and address some of the key challenges and opportunities facing higher education today:

How can young universities compete on a world stage?
The role of young universities in engaging with civic society and major societal issues
The challenges of establishing world-class universities without centuries of history and tradition
How can we best include innovation metrics in ranking systems?
The relation between funding and the achievement of excellence
Distinctiveness and brand in a competitive global market
Leadership challenges for less established universities

Keynote speakers will include thought leaders from the world’s leading young universities such as Bertil Andersson, President of Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, fastest rising university in the world; Patrick Aebischer, President of Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, newly-crowned No.1 young university; and Luc Soete, Rector of Maastricht University, ranked 6th.

For further information on the rankings, visit http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/.

For further information on the Young Universities Summit, visit

http://www.theworldsummitseries.com/.