Uni Vienna Achieves Historic Rank in "Times" University Ranking

In the new edition of the "Times Higher Education World University Ranking" published on Thursday, the University of Vienna has become the first Austrian institution to reach a spot in the top 100. The country's largest university ranked 95th, continuing its upward trend of recent years. Other Austrian universities also gained places, with the Medical University of Vienna breaking into the top 200.

The ranking positions are not entirely insignificant: For several years, the research strategy has included the goal of bringing two domestic universities into the top 100 by 2030.

Continuous Rise of the University of Vienna

This is no longer unrealistic: Eight years ago, the University of Vienna was ranked 165th. This was followed by some ups and downs, and since 2021, a continuous rise in the rankings. Initially, this was mainly due to improvements in research indicators, but now better scores are also being achieved in teaching (through better student-to-staff ratios and more doctoral degrees) and in industry collaborations (through increased revenue from applied research).

"This sensational ranking is the result of a long-term strategic orientation to position the University of Vienna as an international top university," said Rector Sebastian Schütze in a statement. "The ranking reflects our excellence in teaching and research in the humanities and social sciences as well as in the natural and life sciences equally."

Other Austrian Universities Also Improved

But it wasn't just the University of Vienna that improved: The Medical University of Vienna reached 181st place (previous year: 201-250, from 201 onwards, rankings are only given in groups, note). The Medical University of Innsbruck improved from places 251-300 to 201-250, and the Medical University of Graz remained in the 201-250 ranking group.

In the new ranking, the Central European University (CEU), which has relocated to Vienna, is now counted as an Austrian university. This year, it re-entered the ranking group 251-300 after several years of not being ranked. Most other Austrian universities remained in their previous year's positions: The University of Innsbruck was classified in the ranking group 301-350, the University of Linz in 401-500, the University of Graz in 501-600, the Graz University of Technology and the University of Salzburg in 601-800, and the University of Leoben in 801-1000. Only the University of Klagenfurt slipped from 501-600 to 601-800.

Politics and Universities Celebrate

"Austria is a safe haven for free research and an excellent place for science," said Science Minister Eva Maria Holzleitner (SPÖ) in a statement. "The result is a strong signal for students, researchers, and teachers in Austria and beyond." Chancellor Christian Stocker (ÖVP) spoke of a "significant milestone" for the University of Vienna and the entire Austrian science and research location.

The president of the Universities Conference (uniko), Brigitte Hütter, was pleased for the University of Vienna about a "great leap forward in an increasingly competitive global environment," and she called the placement of the Medical University of Vienna as a specialized university in the top 200 "remarkable." Overall, the results would "demonstrate the excellent international competitiveness" of Austrian universities. Heinz Faßmann, currently president of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) and formerly Science Minister and Vice-Rector of the University of Vienna, saw the result of his former university as evidence that Vienna has recently become more attractive as a research location. At the same time, he warned that "the path upwards should not be abandoned now."

18 Indicators

First place in the "Times" ranking goes to the University of Oxford (United Kingdom) for the tenth consecutive time. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) follows in second place, and in third place are the Princeton University (USA) and the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom) tied. The best continental European and German-speaking university is ETH Zurich (Switzerland), unchanged in eleventh place, and the best German university is the Technical University of Munich in 27th place.

For the ranking, 18 indicators from the areas of teaching (primarily reputation survey, student-to-staff ratio; weighting: 29.5 percent), research environment (primarily reputation survey; weighting: 29 percent), research quality (primarily citations; weighting: 30 percent), internationalization (proportion of foreign students and researchers, international collaborations; weighting: 7.5 percent), and collaborations with industry (third-party funding, patents; weighting: four percent) were used.

(APA/Red)

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