Two Pakistani universities have made it to the top 400 Working University Rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) ranking for the year 2020. These universities include the Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS) and the National University of Science and Technology (NUST).
The Quacquarelli Symonds’, a notable UK-based higher education ranking agency, uses a consistent methodological framework based on six metrics, including academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty/student ratio, citations per faculty, international faculty ratio and international student ratio.
2 Pakistani Universities in QS Top 400
The QS Working University Rankings for the year 2020 reveal that only two Pakistani higher education institutions, the PIEAS and NUST, made it to the top 400 universities across the globe. The Quaid-e-Azam University, which ranked amongst the top 500 universities list drafted by the Global Times, ranked at the 511-520 rankings in the QS list.
The Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), one of the leading institutes of Pakistan, was ranked at 701-750 by the QS authorities. Many other national higher education institutions have made it to the 801-1000 in the QS rankings, including the University of Engineering & Technology Lahore (UET Lahore), University of Punjab, and COMSATS Institute of Information Technology.
QS University Rankings-2020, ranks Pakistan Institute ofEngineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS) as 375th and NUST Islamabad as 400th best institution in the world. Quaid-e-Azam University has been ranked 3rd in Pakistan and at a rank of 511-520th internationally. pic.twitter.com/TSG6zP6S4x
— Pakscience (@paksciencepk) September 26, 2019
The QS World University Rankings were largely dominated by US and UK-based universities, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) secured the 1st position, while Stanford and Harvard University secured the 2nd and 3rd position respectively. The 4th position was secured by the Oxford University, while the fifth position was claimed by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Earlier this month, the Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU) had made headlines as the only Pakistani university to be ranked amongst the top 500 higher education institutes ranked by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020.
Pakistan can only erect world-renowned elite institutions by focusing on these areas, and this ambition must also be adopted by the policymakers focused on education.
The Times 2020 rankings list reviewed 1400 universities from 92 countries across the world, including 14 universities from Pakistan. The QAU was the top-ranked university, securing the rankings 401-500.
The list also included the COMSATS University Islamabad (601-800), National University of Sciences and Technology (801-1000), University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (801-1000), University of the Punjab (801-1000), International Islamic University, Islamabad (801-1000), Lahore University of Management Sciences (801–1000), Bahauddin Zakariya University (1001+) and the Government College University, Lahore (1001+) amongst others.
Overall Top Ranking Higher Education Institutions in Pakistan.(2015)
1: Quaid-i-Azam University
2: University of Punjab
3: NUST
4: University of Agriculture(Fsbd)
5: Aga Khan University
6: CIIT
7: PIEAS
8: University of Karachi
9: University of Health Sciences
10: UVAS
(HEC)— The Pakistan Index (@thepakindex) September 21, 2019
Opinion makers and academic experts believe that universities across Pakistan must pay serious consideration to international rankings, and elevate their standards to meet modern-day academic requirements and innovations.
Participating in worldwide rankings will create a competitive environment, which will allow the graduates of these universities to benefit from improving employment prospects, alongside attracting foreign students to the country.
Read more: Doing more with less: The challenge of higher education in Pakistan
Universities must focus on improving their international outlook, teaching strategies and curriculum, research departments, employer and academic reputation, alongside gaining recognition through citations in renowned academic journals. Pakistan can only erect world-renowned elite institutions by focusing on these areas, and this ambition must also be adopted by the policymakers focused on education.