UKZN said it had been ranked number one in Africa on the prestigious Times Higher Education Young University Rankings. Picture: Motshwari Mofokeng/African News Agency(ANA) UKZN said it had been ranked number one in Africa on the prestigious Times Higher Education Young University Rankings. Picture: Motshwari Mofokeng/African News Agency(ANA)
Johannesburg - The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) said on Monday that it had been ranked number one in Africa on the prestigious Times Higher Education (THE) Young University Rankings, which lists the world’s best universities that are 50 years old or younger.
UKZN spokesperson Ashton Bodrick said the 2019 ranking, which included 351 universities, up from 250 in 2018, saw UKZN as the only African university to feature on the top 100 list.
"Sitting pretty at number 85, UKZN ties with the University of Rome III, Italy. THE Young University Rankings also includes a subset for millennial universities (created after 2000) in which UKZN is ranked number 25."
Bodrick said THE was the leading provider of higher education data for the world's research-led institutions.
"A company behind the world’s most influential university rankings with almost five decades of experience as a source of analysis and insight on Higher Education, THE boasts unparalleled expertise on the trends underpinning university performance globally," he said.
UKZN said the Times Higher Education Young University Rankings table was based on the same 13 performance indicators as the flagship THE World University Rankings, however, the weightings had been adjusted to give less weight to reputation.
"In Africa, UKZN is followed by two other South African universities, which both feature on the 151-200 list. No other African universities made the cut," Bodrick said.
"The UK is once again the most-represented country overall on the list with 34 universities, three more than last year, led by Brighton and Sussex Medical School in joint 36th place."
Bodrick said France was now second with 24 universities, while Australia and Spain were joint third with 22.
"Overall, 60 countries across Europe, Australasia, Asia, North America, Latin America and Africa feature in the eighth annual edition of the table, up from 55 last year. Sorbonne University is the only newcomer in the top 20, joining at ninth place."