IISc made a place in top 500 World Rankings

Be heard, Be strong, Be proud! This is what IISc is feeling at this point as it has made its place in the top 500 world rankings. Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) has announced that IISc ranked in top 500 World rankings. It has made a relevant space amongst the top 500 varsities in the world. ARWU is basically a list of the best 500 universities in the world that is released by Shanghai Jiao Tong University every year. ARWU prepares this list on the basis of universities in scientific research and some other factors like nobel prizes, field medals won by staff and faculty and so on.

IITs are amongst the top institutes in the world, but may not be all that great anymore as it could not make up to the list of top 500 world universities. It has happened for the first time in 9 years that not even a single IIT has made to the list of 500 world universities. IITs have experienced a fall in their rankings, and as per some of the alumnus the standard's of IIT has dropped down.

B.K.Mathur, Dean of Planning and Coordination at IIT Kharagpur said that, "we are aware that our institute no longer figures on the top 500 world universities list. We are trying to explore why this has happened". IIT Kharagpur has featured in every edition of ARWU ever since it started, except this year. IIT Delhi has made to the list only once and that too in 2003.

List of Cream Institutes who are in the hot list:

• Harvard University
• Stanford University
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• University of California, Berkeley
• University of Cambridge

Above mentioned universities are from US and has occupied first, second, and third positions respectively. But these rankings have different parameters of reviewing the universities, which may or may not be suitable for Indian institutions.

Source: Richha Bhatnagar (Shiksha Team)
Date: 26th August, 2011