Technion, Hebrew University Among Top 100 in Shanghai Ranking

In the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) published Tuesday, two of Israel’s biggest universities were included in the top-rated 100 institutions.

For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here.

 

The ARWU, also known as the Shanghai Ranking, is an annual report published by the Center for world-class Universities of Shanghai Jiao Tong University since 2003. While it was initially set up to rank the global quality of Chinese universities, it now rates the top 500 global universities each year out of around 1,200. The ranking is based on scientific output, with criteria such as the number of Nobel laureates and Field Medalists among alumni and staff, research output and quality, and per capita performance.

The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology was ranked at 77th place for 2018, up from its 93rd place in 2017 but down from the 69th place it achieved in 2016. In 2017, the Technion inaugurated the Guangdong-Technion Israel Institute of Technology, a joint venture with China-based Shantou University that is located in the coastal Guangdong province in southeast China. The Technion also has a joint program with U.S.-based Cornell University, Cornell Tech, which offers both masters and postdoctoral programs. The program's permanent residence on Roosevelt Island in New York was inaugurated after several years at a Manhattan temporary location.

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel's oldest academic institution, was ranked at 95th place for 2018, after having spent 2017 in the 101-150 bracket. The university was ranked 87th in 2016, but was ranked as high as 53rd in 2012.

In a press statement, Hebrew University president Asher Cohen credited the university's staff and academic community with the climb, but stated the competition is becoming tougher with each year in the face of low financial state support.

Technion president Peretz Lavie also ascribed the university's high placement to the quality of staff, and stated the Technion actively promotes its global research ties to strengthen its global position.

Four other Israeli universities made it to the top 500. Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science kept its place in the 101-150 bracket—the last time the university made it to the top 100 list was 2013. Tel Aviv University was ranked in the 151-200 group, while Bar-Ilan University and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev were placed in the 401-500 range.

In its 207-2018 Universities report, Seattle-based market research company Pitchbook ranked Tel Aviv University in 9th place when listing the top 50 undergraduate programs for venture capital-backed entrepreneurs, with an entrepreneur count of 582 and a company count of 486. The entire top ten remained unchanged for the past few years, with Stanford University placing first and the University of Illinois closing in 10th place—Tel Aviv is the only non-American university to place in the top 10. Pitchbook ranked the Technion at 13th place for 2017-2018, up two places from the year before, and the Hebrew University at the 35 spot, down two places. Pitchbook’s report also ranked Tel Aviv at 13th place for top universities for an MBA, and in eighth place for top universities for MBA in terms of “unicorn” companies.