UPF, fifth among young universities in the world that progress most quickly in the international rankings
Contra el genocidi i contra la violació dels drets humans, a Gaza i arreu del món
Peace comes when you talk to the person you most hate. And that’s where the courage of a leader comes.
Desmond Tutu (1931-2021), first recipient of an honorary doctorate from UPF
These words, spoken by Desmond Tutu, the first person ever to be awarded an honorary doctorate by UPF, are more applicable today than ever. The UPF condemns, and will always condemn, the use of violence to settle disputes. At UPF, we advocate approaching political or territorial conflicts based on dialogue and respect for all peoples and minorities.
As a university, we also want to show our support to the academic community in countries at war. Universities and scientific institutions are more necessary than ever in these regions. Access to education and the promotion of critical thinking, in the context of strong independent institutions, are the way to ensure the informed debate and reflection that can open the door to new avenues for finding solutions.
At UPF, we are aware of the university community’s concern for the human rights violations we are seeing in the conflicts around us. That is why on this website you will find information about campaigns and actions related to current conflicts, as well as opinion pieces and institutional statements. We also offer a dedicated e-mail address – [email protected] – to contact the university and let us know about your interests and concerns.
UPF, fifth among young universities in the world that progress most quickly in the international rankings
UPF, fifth among young universities in the world that progress most quickly in the international rankings
Times Higher Education (THE) has today presented the report ' Young Universities Summit', in which it shows the seven universities under 50 years of age to have progressed most rapidly in their international ranking. UPF, since 2011, has improved over twenty positions in the THE ranking, and appears in fifth place. In all, the report highlights the role of four European and three Asian universities.
The results of the THE Top 100 Under 50 ranking will not be made public until 29 April at a summit organized in Dublin targeting academic leaders. During the interview held with the editors of the report, the rector of UPF, Jaume Casals, highlighted that, indeed, "the youth and the size of UPF are one of the strengths of the institution, along with a very simple organization, which allows us to be more agile and manoeuvrable; a clear focus on research; and specialization in certain areas in which, in recent times, we have also observed growing interaction and cross-cutting".
List of the seven young universities to progress most quickly in the Times Higher Education world ranking
| Position | University | Year of foundation | Country |
| 1 | Nanyang Technological University | 1991 | Singapore |
| 2 | Maastricht University | 1976 | Netherlands |
| 3 | University of Warwick | 1965 | United Kingdom |
| 4 | Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology | 1971 | South Korea |
| 5 | Pompeu Fabra University | 1990 | Spain |
| 6 | Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne | 1969 | Switzerland |
| 7 | Hong Kong University of Science and Technology | 1991 | Hong Kong |
Source: 'Young Universities Summit Report'. Times Higher Education 2015. www.theworldsummitseries.com
The report 'Young Universities Summit' comes from research in which Times Higher Education analyses the universities in the Top 200 of its prestigious world ranking and identifies the universities less than 50 years old to have most improved since 2011. UPF, which has risen more than twenty places, is in fifth place.
The editor of Times Higher Education, Phil Baty, points out that despite the average age of the 100 best institutions in the last global THE ranking being close to 200 years, research shows that leadership depends not only on age but, above all, on "the audacity" of the institutions, their leadership capacity and a clear focus: "These seven universities have shown that what other institutions have achieved in centuries can be achieved in a matter of decades. This should serve as an example for other institutions: the traditional world order is not impregnable; young, visionary universities can get into the ranking".
The report highlights three essential indicators for good positioning: the influence of citations (the extent to which an institution's publications are referenced by other scholars, an indicator of the influence of a research institution on the others); income from industry (the extent to which industry and academia collaborate to promote applied research with social impact); and the institution's international outlook (not just the number of international students and faculty that the university is able to attract, but also the extent to which this institution publishes articles with other foreign universities).
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