The Netherlands is one of the top six countries in the world with the most prestigious universities

The country increased its share of institutions in a global ranking of universities who enjoys the most respect and admiration from leading academics around the world.

The results of the Times Higher Education (THE) World Reputation Rankings show the Netherlands, together with Australia and France, has 5 institutes in the top 100 – last year it had 4 institutes in the top 100. The list is dominated by the so-called super league universities in the United States and Britain which combined have 55 institutes in the top 100, followed by Germany who has 6. The top 3 universities on the list are: Harvard University in the US, followed by the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford which are both in the UK.

The Netherlands however holds its own with 5 institutes in the top 100 which makes it one of the top 3 most prestigious countries in Europe when it comes to institutes of higher education.

And in the Netherlands Wittenborg University is one of the most international institutes in the country by boasting more than 60 different nationalities among staff and students – punching way above its size.

 Times Higher Education partnered with Elsevier to disseminate the Academic Reputation Survey on which the results are based. Questionnaires, which asked participants to nominate up to 10 of the best institutions in their field of expertise, were completed by 10 000 academics selected to give a statistically representative sample of global scholars. Responses from more than 140 countries were received.

THE’s ranking editor, Phil Baty, wrote in a special supplement to magazine, that “a strong reputation helps universities to attract global talent and funding; attracting global talent and cash (in turn) help to sustain strong reputations”.

“A strong reputation not only indicates current success but also drives future fortune. It helps universities to draw in investment and raise philanthropic funds. Perhaps most importantly, it helps attracts the best students and scholars. So there is a great deal riding on these data, it is essential that the research underpinning the results is robust.”

Source: www.timeshighereduction.co.uk

WUP 30/3/2015