HSE Makes Strides in QS Global Rankings

The Higher School of Economics (HSE) has improved its position and taken 382^nd place in the 2017 QS Ranking, which was published on June 7, 2017.

This year marks the halfway point of the Russian Academic Excellence Project (Project 5-100), a highly selective government programme aimed at boosting the overall global competitiveness of Russian universities and academic institutions. The goal of this project is for at least five Russian universities to enter the Top-100 of leading global rankings by 2020.

In fact, Russian universities have already entered the top lists of various global rankings by subject, and in some subject areas, they are among the Top-100 universities around the world. However, it will take more time to accumulate their comprehensive potential and academic reputation in order to make improvements in wide range of subjects. Nevertheless, some significant success has been achieved in institutional rankings as well.

Russian universities have dynamically improved thanks to their competitive development programmes. They have improved some of their objective indicators, such as share of internationals students and foreign professors, as well as their numbers related to publications. In addition, the main improvement in universities’ positions this year has taken place in such indicators as academic reputation and reputation among employers, which count for 40% and 10% of the ranking, respectively. This, undoubtedly, reflects the growing brand visibility of Russian universities and their advancement on a global scale.

HSE has been improving in the QS institutional ranking for the second year in a row, moving from the 411-420 cohort to 382^nd place. Furthermore, HSE has risen 119 positions over the last two years.

‘HSE is only 25 years old as of this year, and yet it is already in the Top-400 of the ranking, along with renowned academic institutions that already have strong reputations and academic traditions. We are developing fast and have already become part of the global academic agenda. Furthermore, we have enhanced our reputation in the academic community, among employers and international students,’ says Irina Karelina, HSE Director of Strategic Planning.

Since its foundation, HSE has grown from a small specialized institution to a comprehensive globally recognized university, which covers not only social sciences, economics, and humanities, but also computer science, physics, and interdisciplinary research. In addition, HSE is a leader on the e-learning market. For example, it has 1 million students on Coursera, the largest global online education platform. This is also one of the factors with respect to HSE’s high quality reputation and a key way of attracting international students.

The 14^th Annual 2018 QS World University Rankings includes 965 universities, which is 64 more than last year. This year, the list includes 24 Russian universities, with 15 of them being participants in the 5-100 Academic Excellence Project.

Ben Sowter, Head of the QS Intelligence Unit, comments: ‘Russian universities’ achievements this year indicate that thorough, long-term strategic planning, along with targeted and consistent investment, as well as their effective pursuit of internationalization, has ultimately generated tangible positive changes in their positions in the ranking. This year’s high results hinge on Russian universities’ willingness to improve their international positions while also implementing international strategies as an integral part of their development.’

The ranking’s methodology includes six indicators: academic reputation over five years (40%); reputation among employers over five years (10%); faculty/student ratio (20%); citations per faculty (20%); and international faculty ratio/international student ratio (5% each). This year, the ranking has introduced certain changes: the period of publications to be considered has shifted by one year, which means that the same pool of publications is analyzed for the previous year, but the period of citations has been expanded from five to six years. Furthermore, the calculation of employers’ votes has also changed. While previously, international employers were calculated with a 70% coefficient and local ones at a 30% coefficient, they are now balanced at a 50:50 ratio.