HYDERABAD: IIT-Hyderabad has made an impressive debut into the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2019, securing a place in the 601-800 rank slot. Osmania University, meanwhile continues to hold ground in the 801-1000 band.
Overall, the number of Indian educational institutions that have found a place in the rankings has jumped from 42 to 49. The Indian Institute of Science based in Bengaluru has been ranked as the best in the country, securing a place in the 251-300 band.
IITs in Indore, Bombay and Roorkee were the others ranked best in India, followed by Jagadguru Sri Shivarathreeswara University from Karnataka. Oxford University emerged as the best in the world followed by Cambridge and Stanford.
Like IIT Hyderabad, its counterpart at Indore too has made it to the list for the first time and with a spectacular ranking of 351-400. IIT Hyderabad shares the rank band with the likes of Banaras Hindu University, Delhi University, IISCER, IITs of Guwahati, Madras and Bhubaneswar. As per the ranking, IIT-H it has 1,969 full-time equivalents (FTE), 11.7 students per staff and a 20:80 female-male ratio.
Osmania University’s performance has been consistent in this ranking in the last two years. In terms of the number of FTE and the percentage of foreign students in both 2019 and 2018 it got 12,017 and 3 percent respectively. Under the parameter of number of students per staff, the state university has fallen marginally from 15.5 in 2018 to 16.3 in 2019. In the Asia University ranking of 2018, OU was ranked in 251-300 band.
UB Desai, director of IIT Hyderabad told Express that while these rankings are looked up by people, they need to be taken with a pinch of salt. “Ultimately it is the kind of work we do which decides what our peers and students think about us and determines our quality. I am happy that until few years we were not in this list and now are but we must not lose sight of your goal,” he said. Prof S Ramchandram, vice-chancellor, Osmania University said that the university sustaining its ranking is an indication the reforms being taken by the varsting are working.
“To provide impetus to research and innovation we have started incubation centre and data centre. And in the last 6 months our research output has also increased. With these and several other reforms that we are undertaking, I am confident that we will improve our global ranking next year,” he said. Infrastructure development, improvement in academic atmosphere in the university and attendance in classes and newly-released funding of Rs 100 crore under RUSA are some measures the VC feels will help in this regard.
Two universities from AP make it to the list
Tirupati-based Sri Venkateswara University and Guntur-based Acharya Nagarjuna University were the only two universities from among 15 State-run universities, 9 Central higher educational institutions, and five private universities in Andhra Pradesh that figured in the first 1,000 ranks in the latest World University Rankings released by the Time Higher Education World University Rankings 2019. Both the universities were in the bracket of 801-1,000 ranks. Meanwhile, Visakhapatnam-based Andhra University ranked 1,001+, so was the case with GITAM (deemed to be university), which was also based in Vizag.