The year 2023 has also brought significant changes to the way these rankings are compiled. The parameters have been expanded to include additional aspects that more comprehensively measure the quality of the institution and its contribution to society. These include, for example, sustainable development, industrial partnerships, graduate success, internationalisation in science and education, and the institution’s internal culture and values.
One of the major achievements in the past year is joining the TOP 400 universities in the world in the QS World University Rankings (QS WUR). Historically, this is MU’s best global ranking to date. In 2023, the rankings evaluated 1,499 institutions from 104 countries and underwent a major innovation. It introduced three new indicators focusing on the structure and intensity of international research collaboration, the success of graduates in the labour market and the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The institution’s reputation among academics and employers plays an important role in this international comparison. Other areas monitored include research performance, international students and staff, and the ratio of students to academic staff.
“Our university’s results are mainly reflected in the growing reputation of employers who recognise the skills of our graduates, the attractiveness of our programmes for foreign students and the extent of our international cooperation in science. We have significantly improved our score in the sustainability indicator. This recognises Masaryk University’s contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals in all our areas of activity. Our place in the world's TOP 400 confirms our long-term strategic orientation,” said Rector Martin Bareš.
Read more: MU ranks among top 400 global universities for the first time
New in 2023 was the regional QS Europe Rankings, which compared universities from the 42 member countries of the Council of Europe on the basis of indicators similar to those used in the main QS WUR. This regional ranking has a stronger focus on internationalisation, tracking (for example) the diversity of international students and student mobility. In this European comparison, MU is ranked 161 out of 688 institutions.
“I am also very satisfied with the results of the European ranking, although I am convinced that MU has what it takes to reach much higher positions within Europe. After all, Masaryk University had the best publishing performance per number of academic and scientific staff among Czech universities. Thanks to the size and diversity of its international student community – that is thanks to the attractiveness of our study programmes abroad – it has also earned a strong position in the European comparison,” added Rector Bareš.
MU is second best Czech university in ranking of European schools
Another success was maintaining its position among the TOP 500 universities in the Shanghai ARWU (Academic Ranking of World Universities). Together with Charles University, Masaryk University is the only representative of the Czech Republic in the TOP 500. This prestigious ranking is based on six indicators of academic performance. It evaluates the quality of the institution’s publication activity, highly cited scientists and prestigious awards received. Last year, the organisation evaluated over 2,500 institutions that met the criteria for inclusion, but only the top 1,000 from 63 countries were included in the final ranking.
MU appeared in the ARWU for the first time in 2017 in the 601st-700th position. Masaryk University's ranking is based on its performance in four indicators, namely the number of publications in Nature and Science, the number of publications indexed in Web of Science, the scientific output per academic staff member and the representation on the list of highly cited researchers.
Masaryk University again in TOP 500 best world universities
THE World University Rankings have undergone the biggest changes. It now includes 18 indicators in five thematic areas. Five indicators are completely new, four of which are innovative ways of assessing research quality. However, more than a third of the overall ranking still depends on the results of a reputation survey. A record 1,904 institutions from 108 countries were compared in 2023.
Masaryk University performed best in the areas of scientific environment and internationalisation. MU has improved the most in cooperation with industry compared to last year. Its place among the best 601-800 universities represents an improvement of 200 places.
MU achieved its best global sustainability score, 119th out of 1,183 ranked institutions in 84 countries, in the 2023 UI GreenMetric ranking, where it has also participated for the longest time. For example, the ranking assesses waste, water, and energy management and tracks campus environment, infrastructure, and student and staff transportation behaviour. It is also interesting to see how sustainability issues are incorporated into education and research.
The third of the international sustainable development rankings in which MU actively participates is THE Impact Rankings, where the link to the seventeen UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is most directly manifest. Institutions subscribe to each goal in the rankings, and the indicators directly track the university's contribution to each SDG.
MU has participated in THE Impact since 2021, specifically in the assessment of SDG3 (Good Health and Well-Being), SDG4 (Quality Education), SDG16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) and SDG17 (Partnership to Achieve the Goals). Overall, it is ranked 401-600 out of 1,591 institutions currently assessed in 115 countries. MU scores above average in the assessment of scientific performance across all selected goals. Indicators in this area include the number of publications, FWCI, CiteScore, Paper Views and others. More than a quarter of the scores in each SDG are based on these bibliometric indicators.
In a national comparison, MU achieves the highest score in SDG17 and is rated the best among Czech universities. The high score is achieved thanks to international and cross-sectoral cooperation, including cooperation with the non-profit sector, education of its students and the general public in the field of sustainable development (courses, lectures, summer schools or awareness-raising activities) and, last but not least, regular reporting on its commitments and their implementation in the Annual Sustainability Report.
“Our historically best positions in several rankings, especially in view of the growing competition, clearly prove that Masaryk University is globally competitive and has a significant social impact,” concluded Rector Martin Bareš.