Two Indian universities Among World’s Top 20 Small Universities

According to the Times Higher Education’s (THE) ‘World’s Best Small Universities Ranking 2016’, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati secured 14th position globally. IIIT-Guwahati was followed by Savitribai Phule Pune University which secured the 16th position in the list. California Institute of Technology bagged the first position in the list.

“India’s institutions are well represented in the World’s Best Small Universities Ranking 2016. Alongside Caltech, they demonstrate the world-class offering available at smaller institutions, no matter their location,” said Phil Baty, ‘THE’ rankings editor.

‘THE’ describes a small university as a university with fewer than 5,000 students and that teach and research across more than four disciplines. Only 20 small universities in the world are considered world-class.

“When it comes to universities, size matters. For some students big is best, but for others, a small university is the right option. Small universities can potentially offer students a more intimate environment, with more support and attention from lecturers, and more of a chance for students to spend time with the star professors who in bigger universities may simply be too busy. The smaller university can also offer a greater sense of collegiality and community, where students are less likely to get lost in the crowd,” Baty said.

In the list, US has five universities, Europe has eight and Asia has seven. Although Us has the highest number of universities in the world, followed by UK, both of them could not bag many places.

‘THE’ ranking draws upon 20 universities in the central ‘THE’ World University Rankings with fewer than 5,000 students and teaching and researching across four or more disciplines across 13 performance indicators.