KU Leuven: KU Leuven maintains 42nd place in Times Higher Education World University Rankings
In the annual ranking of Times Higher Education (THE), KU Leuven has obtained an excellent result. The University maintains its 42nd place and continues to be Belgium’s highest-ranked university. When it comes to industry income, the University even ranks 19th worldwide.
The Times Higher Education ranking is based on performance indicators in four domains: teaching, research, international outlook, and industry income. Teaching and research account for the lion’s share of the score: 90%. In addition, 7.5% of the final score is based on the international outlook of an institution, and 2.5% on its knowledge transfer, which is measured in industry income.
Remarkably, KU Leuven has again improved its good score for industry income from last year. The University now ranks 19th worldwide in this domain. In research, too, KU Leuven has gained a high score, especially for the performance indicators ‘research productivity’ (number of publications per scholar) and ‘research income’. And just like last year, KU Leuven has also improved its score for teaching.
Rector Luc Sels: “This magnificent recognition once again proves that KU Leuven holds a very strong position in Belgium and abroad and that the University can be numbered among Europe’s leading universities. I am particularly proud of our researchers and teaching staff and the many colleagues supporting them, because such a remarkably high position is only possible thanks to the efforts of many.”
The result also shows that KU Leuven is quite an extraordinary university, Sels continues. “KU Leuven is one of the few top 50 universities that are excellent and inclusive at the same time: we do not pre-select our students.”
“The exceptional result for industry income, and research in collaboration with the industry, the healthcare sector and other social actors also deserves attention. It demonstrates that KU Leuven is at the centre of society and is crucial for the socio-economic development of the wider region. That way, we live up to our reputation as a highly innovative university. KU Leuven Research & Development, our knowledge and technology transfer office, celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year, should receive praise for this.”
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings are generally considered the most comprehensive world rankings, as they are based on a wide range of performance indicators. Furthermore, Times Higher Education combines objectively measurable performance indicators, such as industry income and the number of publications, with reputation surveys.