Academic Centre
University of Latvia (UL) is ranked 801–1000 in the year of its centenary by the influential Times Higher Education World University Rankings, Moreover, the UL is the only higher education institution in Latvia to stand among the TOP 1000, inform the authors of THE Rankings.
THE Rankings represent the best universities in the world, assessed in terms of their performance in five areas – teaching (the learning environment); research (volume, income and reputation); citations (research influence); international outlook (staff, students and research); and industry income (knowledge transfer).
"The high result of the UL in the rankings is a substantial gift in the UL centenary, and an accomplishment of the entire UL family," emphasizes the Acting Rector of the UL, Professor Gvido Straube. “This rating is also a challenge to ascend ever higher, hence, we should place an even greater emphasis upon our university's dedication to science, thus constantly increasing its quality and international recognition. The university will always be associated with students, thus, our university’s popularity among the youth of Latvia and knowledge seekers from abroad, is an important consideration. Hopefully, all of this will contribute to our goal of being among the TOP 500 universities worldwide,” says G. Straube.
In comparison with the previous year, the results of UL have improved according to three indicators. The UL has achieved the best results in cooperation with the industry, rising from 873 to 567. For many years, the UL's best indicator has been the international outlook, where the UL retains a good result – this year it has risen from 672 to 571. The UL ranks 646th in research, while last year it ranked 973rd.
“The number of companies working with the University of Latvia on developing new products or technologies increases annually. Entrepreneurs are also becoming more aware of the need to invest in innovative products that can potentially generate higher profits in the future and help them retain competitiveness. Our services are offered to both domestic and foreign companies, and attracting the enterprises registered outside Latvia will be among the foremost targets of the future, since the scientific and research potential is clearly present, “explains Mārtiņš Borodušķis, Senior Technology Transfer Expert at the UL Department of Communication and Innovation.
To facilitate collaboration with industry, the UL has established a technology transfer team whose mission is to be a one-stop intermediary point between industry and a specific group of scientists that is selected according to the formulated research requirements of that industry.
The proportion of international students and visiting lecturers plays an important role in THE Rankings indicator of international outlook. The increase in the UL result is due to rise in the number of courses offered in English. Researchers are also welcomed by the UL institutes and the UL Academic Centre offers a modern study and work environment. “The trend is that visiting students want to return or extend their exchange studies at the UL. When asked why the UL was chosen as a destination, we often hear the answer– suggestions and good feedback from previous years' students helped us make the choice,” says Sintija Maculeviča, Head of International Mobility Unit.
Other higher education institutions of Latvia that have entered THE Rankings are Riga Technical University and Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies, taking 1001+ place.
The highest result this year has been achieved by the University of Oxford, the United Kingdom, followed by the California Institute of Technology (USA), while the third place is taken by another prominent university of the UK – the University of Cambridge.
Times Higher Education World University Rankings stand among the world's three most influential university assessment systems and have been published over the course of 17 years. This year, THE Rankings provide assessment of more than 1 400 leading universities from 92 countries around the world, using the information attained from universities themselves, as well as surveys. Elsevier bibliometric data and a five-year citation index for 12.8 million publications have likewise been employed in assessment. THE Rankings yield a broad and balanced comparison of higher education institutions on the basis of assessment given by students, academics, university leaders, industry and public administration.
Full results of THE Rankings are available at THE home page.
