THE Young University Rankings lists UKZN number one in Africa

The University of KwaZulu-Natal has secured the number one spot 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.

The 2019 ranking, which includes 351 universities, up from 250 in 2018, sees 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 is 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.

The Times Higher Education Young University Rankings table is based on the same 13 performance indicators as the flagship THE World University Rankings; however, the weightings have been adjusted to give less weight to reputation.

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology leads the pack at the number one spot for the second year in a row, while 'Ecole Polytechnique F'ed'erale de Lausanne; Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; and Paris Sciences et Lettres - PSL Research University Paris remain in second, third and fourth place respectively.

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.

"I am extremely proud of UKZN for being recognised for a second consecutive year as one of the Top 100 Young Universities according to Times Higher Education," said Professor Deresh Ramjugernath, UKZN DVC for Research. "UKZN is the only university on the African continent to appear on the Top 100 list. The rankings are based on academic performance (teaching and research), international outlook and industry engagement, and are a reflection of how well our institution has performed while having gone through the tough process of merger and transformation. We are well on our way to consolidating our position as one of the leading research-intensive universities not just on the African continent, but globally," said Ramjugernath.

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. France is now second with 24 universities, while Australia and Spain are 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.

For more information, go to: https://www.timeshighereducation.com.

Words: Sinegugu Ndlovu and Sejal Desai