Umeå University climbed from 34 to 27 in this year’s ‘Top 50 under 50’ league table produced by QS University Rankings

Umeå University advanced seven places globally – from 34 to 27 – in this year’s ‘Top 50 under 50’ league table produced by QS University Rankings. The list focuses on young and dynamic universities established within the last 50 years.

Umeå, Sweden, 5-2-2014 — /EuropaWire/ — “We are not only the highest ranked Swedish university on the list, but also first among the Nordic countries,” says Lena Gustafsson, Vice-Chancellor at Umeå University. “We are the listed as tenth in Europe which is very gratifying.”

“QS Top 50 under 50″ ranks the top universities in the world that are under 50 years old. This is the third time QS has published the ranking, which aims to highlight relatively newly established universities already making a big impact in the global rankings. This feat is particularly impressive as the ranking is compiled based on factors including international reputation, research citations and international diversity of students and staff – all of which typically take a significant period of time to establish.

As Umeå University will be celebrating its 50th anniversary next year, this is the last time they will be listed in this ranking table.

QS head of research Ben Sowter, said: “The dynamic nature of this ranking makes it an interesting comparison with our global and regional rankings. By focusing on the performance of these younger institutions alone, the list aims to spot the up-and-coming higher education powerhouses in the global arena.”

Universities in Asia occupy the top three places this year. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) kept the top spot and Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) retained second place. KAIST – Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology held the third spot.

“The international competition is fierce, but this placement indicates that we occupy a relatively strong and stable position, both nationally and internationally,” explains Lena Gustafsson. “But there are many challenges and we are actively working to achieve even higher quality – in both research and education.”

The ranking of young higher education institutions is based on 2013/14 QS World University Rankings. Umeå University was ranked 289th on this list. The ranking is compiled based on factors including international reputation, research citations and international diversity of students and staff.

QS Top 50 Under 50 2013/14

For further information, please contact:

Lena Gustafsson, Vice-Chancellor at Umeå University
Phone: +46 (0)73-079 42 91
E-mail: lena.gustafsson@adm.umu.se

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Umeå University climbed from 34 to 27 in this year’s ‘Top 50 under 50’ league table produced by QS University Rankings