This makes Germany the third strongest nation among the top 200 once again. The THE Ranking, alongside the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) and the QS World University Ranking, are considered to be among the world’s most important university rankings. The THE Rankings focus on five criteria: teaching, research, citations, knowledge transfer and international reputation. Ranking between the positions 251-300, the University of Potsdam is roughly on a par with the University of Chicago Illinois, the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon and the partner universities Higher School of Education (HSE) Moscow and Stellenbosch (South Africa). The number of universities ranked has risen continuously in recent years, by 158 in the current ranking compared with the previous year.
“We have now achieved a strong position in the top third in comparison with all German universities. We are also in good company in the international context alongside universities with comparable ratings such as the University of Chicago or Stellenbosch/South Africa. All of this goes to show that our strategy to date is bearing fruit, although we still see room for improvement. This is also in line with the state government's plans to further expand Brandenburg's research and higher education landscape as described in the coalition agreement,” says University President Prof. Oliver Günther, Ph.D.
Vice President for International Affairs, Alumni and Fundraising at the University of Potsdam, Prof. Dr. Florian J. Schweigert, emphasized how important digital offers will be in the future for the excellence of universities, especially in light of the crisis: “For universities worldwide, the pandemic is a watershed moment for internationalization; mobility, in particular, is still only possible to a limited extent or in virtual settings and partnership work takes place primarily through digital channels. It is therefore a particular challenge for the times ahead to develop a suitable mix of digital and physical mobility, not only to return to our old form in terms of the internationalization of our university, but also to improve our progress through innovative offers. After all, we want to continue to perform very well in the International Outlook section of the ranking.”
As recently as June 2020, the University of Potsdam took one of the top spots in the THE U 50 ranking for universities under 50 years of age. With a total of 414 ranked universities from 60 countries, the University of Potsdam was among the top 30 and ranked 3rd within Germany. In a global comparison, the University of Potsdam’s position at 28th place is roughly on par with institutions like the Medical University of Vienna and the James Cook University in Australia. In addition, the University of Potsdam is among the top 500 in the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) 2020, also called Shanghai Ranking, and was thus able to repeat its good performance from the previous year. The renowned ranking, which is compiled by the Jiao Tong University of Shanghai, annually compares the research strength of more than 1,800 universities in 54 subjects and publishes the 1,000 best.
Website:
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2021/world-ranking
Contact:
Dr. Silke Brodersen, International Office
Phone: 0331 977-124436
E-Mail: silke.brodersenuuni-potsdampde
Media information 02-09-2020 / No. 082