Panjab University ranked no. 1 in country — again

Reacting, PU Vice-Chancellor Arun Kumar Grover said, “It is a matter of satisfaction that PU has been recognised at the global level for the second year in a row. It is an honour that our university has been ranked number one (in the country) along with an institute which is acknowledged worldwide. I would have been happier if other institutes had taken over PU in the ranking as that would have given us confidence to move forward.”

He added, “PU has the potential to improve further and Peking University, Beijing, is the target for Panjab University. If we want to make a difference, time has come to implement those schemes which we had been contemplating.’’

The Peking University is ranked as the best university in BRICS countries.

Grover said that the latest ranking had proved that rankings could not be manipulated, as PU had been consistently ranked among top universities by different agencies.

Rajat Sandheer, president of Panjab University Teacher’s Association, said, “With these new rankings, new opportunities will open up for the campus students. We will try to make the best of it, though we still have to do a lot to improve our world rankings.”

As many as 21 Indian institutions reportedly participated in 2014-15 World University Rankings, which includes IIT-Kharagpur, IIT-Madras, IIT-Roorkee, Manipal University, Amity University, ITM University, Aligarh Muslim University, Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyala, Indian School of Mines, IIT-Guwahati, IIT-Bombay, University of Hyderabad, Indian Institute of Science, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Jamia Milia Islamia, Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research, Pune; IIT-Kanpur, Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani; University of Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University.

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings uses 13 performance indicators to examine a university’s strengths against all its core missions, namely teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook. The 13 indicators are grouped into five areas which are the learning environment (worth 30 per cent overall score), volume, income and reputation of research (30 per cent), citations which show research influence (30 per cent), industry income from innovation (2.5 per cent) and international outlook in staff, students and research (7.5 per cent).

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings are decided by Thomson Reuters.