IISc, IIT Bombay slip out of top 200 list of global universities

MUMBAI: Forget the top 100. This year, not a single Indian institute has made it to even the top 200 of the world’s most prestigious universities, in the 2014 World Reputation Rankings (WRR) by Times Higher Education Magazine.

Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and IIT Bombay, which figured at 130t h and 192nd places in the table last year, have slipped out of the top 200 this year. There are 20 countries represented in the world top-100 table, led by Harvard University, MIT and Stanford University in the first three spots. India is a noshow.

Indian institutions have experienced a collective drop in their positions from last year’s survey, said Phil Baty, editor of Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings, in a written response to ET.

“Whilst we do not officially rank institutions below 100, we can reveal that the Indian Institute of Science continues to be the most highly-rated university in India, although it has seen its position drop to just below 200 in the world. IIT Bombay has also dropped to the 210-220 group while IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur both now feature just below 250th position in the world,” said Baty.
The World Reputation Ranking is based on a world-wide survey of expert academic opinion and denotes a university’s global standing when it comes to academic reputation. The 2014 rankings are based on 10,536 responses from 133 countries.

“While this list only names the world’s top 100, and a very specific US-dominated elite, it is still a concern that not enough scholars around the world consider India’s institutions among the very, very best. This could impede future opportunities and contribute to a vicious circle — with the diminished ability to attract top global talent leading to a further diminished reputation,” said Baty