Ural Federal University: UrFU Improves Its Academic Reputation in the World

Ural Federal University has improved a variety of indexes in the QS World University Rankings 2021. Ural Federal University achieved the greatest success in the development of its academic reputation and the student-faculty ratio. In the overall ranking, according to the data published today, the university is ranked 351st in the world.

The Academic Reputation indicator is calculated based on the assessment of scientists’ perceptions of the world’s best universities in terms of the quality of research. For this purpose, the authors of the rating interviewed more than 130 thousand scientists from different countries. As for the ratio between the number of professors and the number of students, the higher number of scientists per student is an indirect indicator of the commitment of educational institutions to quality education.

“This is a very important achievement for the university, because academic reputation is the most important criterion in such a prestigious global ranking. We are growing faster than many other universities in the ranking. UrFU has managed to strengthen its positions due to the ongoing work on the development of international scientific relations and partnerships. The world’s most authoritative publications are citing our scientists more and more often – we jumped 57% in this indicator (from 3.4 to 5.3 citations per researcher). This has become possible, especially because of the university’s successful participation in the “5-100″ program. Through this project we have become more competitive and visible in the world. The university will continue to work in this direction, allowing next year to go even higher in the ranking,” says Victor Koksharov, rector of UrFU.

Victor Koksharov also expressed confidence that with the reduction of the influence of the coronavirus pandemic factor, the growth of UrFU in the ranking should become even more serious. It will help to integrate more effectively into the global research agendas, enhance academic mobility and increase the inflow of international students to the university.

In turn, Dmitry Pumpyanskiy, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of UrFU, notes that the university is working systematically to improve the quality of research and educational services.

“All this allows the university to develop science at the highest level and successfully compete for talented applicants. Every year more and more companies are interested in close cooperation with the university in order to implement advanced developments and attract qualified personnel. UrFU opens up and implements new opportunities for the development of the regional economy and solving the problem of import substitution. We are all interested in making the most of the university’s great potential. And the management of the university manages to successfully solve this problem year after year. The complex development of the territory for the benefit of its inhabitants directly depends on it,” emphasizes Dmitry Pumpyanskiy.

In March 2021, the university for the first time entered the top 100 in several areas of the QS World University Rankings by Subject. UrFU achieved notable successes in Oil and Gas, Social Policy and Management, and Hospitality and Leisure Management. Moreover, the results in Engineering – Mechanical, Aeronautical & Manufacture in the 351-400 group increased. UrFU moved up by 100 positions in Economics (group 351-400) and Computer Science (group 451-500).