The ranking tracks 150 institutions around the world
The University of Hong Kong is going global. The University of Hong Kong has been ranked the world’s third most international university, according to a recent ranking of 150 institutions around the world.
While HKU retained the position it scored previously on the annual list, Chinese University saw a great leap upward to 28th from 108th last year, as the ranking changed its methodology to factor in for the first time a university’s global reputation.
HKU was ranked highest among all Asian universities.
“Not only do [Hong Kong universities] have a large body of international students and faculty, they also have a strong international reputation,” said Phil Baty, world university rankings editor of London-based Times Higher Education, which published the ranking.
Baty said many universities that were above Chinese University last year had been excluded this year because they did not have as strong a global reputation.
The new fourth element – a university’s international reputation – comprises 25 per cent of the total score. The other factors were proportions of the following: the university’s international students, its international staff, and its journal publications.
Hok Yau Club Student Guidance Centre director Ng Po-shing told Young Post yesterday that HKU had such a high ranking because it was a multidisciplinary university with a very strong reputation in the world.
“The university is very international as most of its professors and researchers come from other countries. The university has offered lot of different scholarships to attract international students. These students are looking for a university that covers many disciplines too, ranging from arts, science, law, medicine, education to business. If they are interested in medicine, only HKU and CUHK offer this subject. All these factors explain why HKU and CUHK have a strong standing in the ranking,” he said.
Ng also said that the ranking played a vital role in indicating how international and strong the university is. “International students use this kind of international university ranking as an indicator when picking an institution. Everyone knows CUHK is prestigious in the city. But when it comes to international reputation, CUHK still needs some more time to make itself more global.”
ETH Zurich and Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, both located in Switzerland, came first and second in the rankings.