NUI Galway has continued its rise in global ranking as the Times Higher Education (THE ) World University Rankings 2016/2017 today confirms the university’s position within the top tier of Irish universities. NUI Galway made a significant leap into the 201-250 range, compared to 351-400 in 2012.
This is the second time within a short period that NUI Galway has continued its upward trajectory in global rankings, with QS world rankings published earlier this month, NUI Galway also saw a climb into the top 250 universities globally.
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings, now in their 13th year, apply rigorous standards, using global benchmarks across all university’s key missions — teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.
The ranking announced today is more significant because the Times results are generally accepted as being the more influential of the two. This is because the Times rankings are relied upon by many involved in international research funding.
President of NUI Galway, Dr Jim Browne, commented: “The success in recent weeks of our advancement in global university rankings reflects the ambition, hard work and creativity of our staff and students. There’s a culture here in Galway that’s focused on making a difference, by empowering our students to go on and do great things as well as an emphasis on areas of research that can have the most impact.
“We have been doing the best we can with limited funding to support activities that are having a real impact globally, by working closely with industry and focusing on collaboration, while also advancing the international reach of our university.
“While no ranking system can truly assess the value of a university, we know that rankings are important to our graduates as they progress their careers internationally, as well as raising the profile of NUI Galway on a global stage.”
Phil Baty, editor of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings said of NUI Galway’s achievements: “In the last number of years, NUI Galway has enjoyed a continued rise in the World University Rankings and this year has made it into the world top 250 as its research has made more of a global impact. The performance of NUI Galway in the context of funding challenges in Ireland is significant, especially as it is set against the backdrop of increased global competition in the sector.”
The rise in both the rankings globally has come after a year of achievement at the university.
In September 2015, An Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD officially launched the €25 million HRB Clinical Research Facility and Lambe Institute for Translational Research. Situated on the grounds of University Hospital Galway, the €25 million facility represents the nexus of research and its translation into the clinical setting.
Two months later, in November 2015, the Institute for Lifecourse and Society (ILAS ) for the applied social sciences was launched. It is the largest of its kind in Europe with 150 staff.
In 2015 NUI Galway outperformed other Irish universities by securing the highest amount of funding during the first nine months of the EU’s Horizon 2020 funding programme. Major Horizon 2020 projects include the €4.8 million ROCSAFE project which will develop robotics and intelligent reasoning to gather forensic evidence.
In May this year NUI Galway and the Gate Theatre announced a partnership to digitise the Gates’s archive, a major resource of theatre scholars and artists internationally.
In June, a team of biomedical researchers at NUI Galway developed synchronised beating heart cells from skin cells, with the aim of tackling inherited cardiac conditions in young people.
Education (THE ) World University Rankings for 2016-17 is available to view online at: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/
