For the first time in its history, the Széchenyi István University has been included in one of the most prestigious world rankings, which means that it is in the top five percent of universities globally. The achievement is a huge success, as the Times Higher Education ranking measures the academic performance of higher education institutions using the most strict and highest standards.
The two most respected and most watched rankings of higher education in the world are those of Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and Times Higher Education (THE), which published their world rankings in June. In regards to the QS ranking, Széchenyi István University was included for the third time, and moved up from the 1200th to the 1001th place. The institution has also been included in the European QS ranking, for the first time, published last week, as the sixth best Hungarian university, and in 382nd place in Europe. THE published this year’s world ranking on 27th of September, where for the first time in its history that Széchenyi University has been included in the ranking. The prestige of the list is reflected in the fact that the podium is joined by Oxford University in the UK and both Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US.
A press release issued by the Department for Culture and Innovation quotes Phil Batty, THE’s Head of Global Affairs, as saying: “It is impressive to see Hungary’s strengthened position in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. “THE rankings are only open to research-intensive and globally oriented universities. It is the most comprehensive, balanced, and rigorous benchmarking system in the world, using seventeen separate performance indicators,” he said, congratulating Széchenyi István University for being included in the world ranking list for the first time.
Széchenyi István University is among the top five percent of universities in the world according to THE’s world rankings.
“It is a great pleasure and pride for our community to be ranked in the world rankings of both major international rating organisations. Our debut in THE’s ranking means that we are in the top five percent of the world’s 29,000 universities. Our goal is to continue to move forward in the future,” said Dr. Bálint Filep, President of Széchenyi István University.
“The THE World Ranking is unique in that it measures the academic performance of universities against the most stringent standards, so it is a great achievement that our institution has been included in the ranking. According to the detailed data, our university performed outstandingly in encouraging students to participate in part-time studies abroad, in generating research funds and institutional income, in the number of international students hosted per Hungarian students, and in the number of visiting professors hosted from abroad,” underlined Dr Eszter Lukács, Vice President for International and Strategic Relations of the university.