New elite ranking of world universities places Leicester amongst top institutions
A new ranking of the world’s top 300 elite universities has ranked the University of Leicester among the leading institutions in the world.
Scholarset, the leading academic social network of scientists, engineers and scholars based in China, has announced its 2016 Research Ranking of the Global Universities (RRGU). Leicester is placed in the top 200 world universities at 166, and among the top 20 English universities.
Scholarset's list is the first global university ranking of its kind, focusing on research universities worldwide. In contrast to previous ranking systems, Scholarset relies on big data, concentrates in research output, and emphasizes on research quality. As such, its ranking accurately reflects the research performance and impact of world universities.
The success comes after a definitive table of world University rankings produced by the Times Higher Education saw the University of Leicester climb 32 places to 167 – placing Leicester firmly among the top 1 per cent of universities in the world.
President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Boyle said: “This excellent result is further affirmation of the University of Leicester’s world-leading credentials. We are a long-established institution yet focused on a future that will see us pioneering a distinctive elite of research-intensive institutions, open to all who have talent.”
Scholarset's Research Ranking of the Global Universities is based on four key metrics derived from bibliometric databases: (1) total research output; (2) accumulated research impact; (3) research impact per unit research output; and (4) high impact research output. With more emphasis on quality than quantities, different weights are given to these metrics to calculate the overall score for the final ranking.
Leicester is ranked in the top 25 universities in the Times Higher Education REF Research Power rankings, and is ranked in the top 2% of universities in the world by the QS World University Rankings and rated 5 stars for excellence. Leicester is also ranked in the top 25 universities in the Times Higher Education REF Research Power rankings. The Power ranking takes into account both the quality of research and the number of research-active staff who made REF returns. Research power is important because it gives a strong indication of a combination of world-class research, international impact, critical mass and sustainability.