{
    "title": "VUB advocates for an alternative ranking that takes the size of universities into account",
    "modified_at": "2024-10-09 09:58:35",
    "published_at": "2024-10-08 15:00:00",
    "url": "https://press.vub.ac.be/vub-develops-university-ranking-at-european-level",
    "short_url": "http://prez.ly/7bVc",
    "culture": "en",
    "language": "EN",
    "slug": "vub-develops-university-ranking-at-european-level",
    "body": "<p><strong>Tuesday, October 8, 2024 - Flemish universities are still too often assessed based on their positions in rankings. A new study from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) shows that these comparisons are inaccurate, as they do not take into account the size of universities. The study demonstrates that, regardless of their differing positions in these rankings, KU Leuven, UGent, UAntwerpen, and VUB belong to the absolute top in their class, both in terms of publications and success in European grants.</strong></p><p>This week marks the appearance of the new Times Higher Education (THE) World University Ranking. Such rankings are contested for a variety of reasons, like a questionable and unclear methodology, and an emphasis on reputation rather than on objective criteria. \u200b </p><p>Still, in Flanders, the rankings of the different universities are usually reported side by side. In this way, KU Leuven or UGent come out on top, with UAntwerp and Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) as followers. A new study by the VUB linked to the new rankings proves that this is an incorrect picture of the actual differences between universities, because it does not take into account the most important factor, size.</p><p>In the short study, produced by the VUB Data Office, the ranking and success of Flemish Universities were compared to all European universities of similar size (i.e. up to 25% larger). Size refers to both students and researchers. The results are remarkable, and they indicate that it is inaccurate to speak of quality differences between Flemish universities, based on rankings.</p><p>Vicerector for Research Pieter Ballon (VUB): &ldquo;This comparison shows that famous rankings such as THE are not so much reporting on quality, but mainly on size. It shows that the 4 main Flemish universities (UHasselt is left out because there are few comparable universities with complete data for the study) are all absolutely top in their class. Both in terms of publications and in terms of success in European grants. It is striking to see that VUB, despite a lower place in the THE ranking, regularly outperforms larger universities in Flanders if you adjust for size. VUB has a similar top position vis-&agrave;-vis comparable universities as KU Leuven has among comparable universities in terms of recognition by European reviewers. VUB is the 2<sup>nd</sup> best of all European universities of similar size in EU grants. But also in terms of publications, VUB is in the top-15 of all European universities of comparable size.&rdquo;</p><p>VUB has currently 21.200 students and 3.274 researchers. The largest university in Flanders, KU Leuven, has 65.526 students and 10.432 researchers. Flemish universities were compared to all European of max 25% larger size. The number of universities in each comparison varies between 141 and 380.</p><p><strong>Position of Flemish universities compared to universities that are at most 25% larger in size</strong></p>\n<div\n    class=\"table-container\"\n    style=\"\"\n>\n    <table\n        class=\"table table-bordered\"\n    >\n                            <tbody>\n                            <tr>\n                                            <td class=\"border\"><div class=\"text-default v-spacing\"><p>&nbsp;</p></div></td>                                            <td class=\"border\"><div class=\"text-default v-spacing\"><p>Publications (CWTS Leiden ranking)</p></div></td>                                            <td class=\"border\"><div class=\"text-default v-spacing\"><p>Current European grants (Horizon Europe)</p></div></td>                                            <td class=\"border\"><div class=\"text-default v-spacing\"><p>Previous European grants (Horizon 2020)</p></div></td>                                            <td class=\"border\"><div class=\"text-default v-spacing\"><p>THE ranking (incl. reputation)</p></div></td>                                    </tr>\n                            <tr>\n                                            <td class=\"border\"><div class=\"text-default v-spacing\"><p>KUL</p></div></td>                                            <td class=\"border\"><div class=\"text-default v-spacing\"><p>5th position</p></div></td>                                            <td class=\"border\"><div class=\"text-default v-spacing\"><p>1st position</p></div></td>                                            <td class=\"border\"><div class=\"text-default v-spacing\"><p>3rd position</p></div></td>                                            <td class=\"border\"><div class=\"text-default v-spacing\"><p>9th position</p></div></td>                                    </tr>\n                            <tr>\n                                            <td class=\"border\"><div class=\"text-default v-spacing\"><p>UG</p></div></td>                                            <td class=\"border\"><div class=\"text-default v-spacing\"><p>4th position</p></div></td>                                            <td class=\"border\"><div class=\"text-default v-spacing\"><p>4th position</p></div></td>                                            <td class=\"border\"><div class=\"text-default v-spacing\"><p>7th position</p></div></td>                                            <td class=\"border\"><div class=\"text-default v-spacing\"><p>19th position</p></div></td>                                    </tr>\n                            <tr>\n                                            <td class=\"border\"><div class=\"text-default v-spacing\"><p>UA</p></div></td>                                            <td class=\"border\"><div class=\"text-default v-spacing\"><p>10th position</p></div></td>                                            <td class=\"border\"><div class=\"text-default v-spacing\"><p>10th position</p></div></td>                                            <td class=\"border\"><div class=\"text-default v-spacing\"><p>9th position</p></div></td>                                            <td class=\"border\"><div class=\"text-default v-spacing\"><p>9th position</p></div></td>                                    </tr>\n                            <tr>\n                                            <td class=\"border\"><div class=\"text-default v-spacing\"><p>VUB</p></div></td>                                            <td class=\"border\"><div class=\"text-default v-spacing\"><p>14th position</p></div></td>                                            <td class=\"border\"><div class=\"text-default v-spacing\"><p>2nd position</p></div></td>                                            <td class=\"border\"><div class=\"text-default v-spacing\"><p>6th position</p></div></td>                                            <td class=\"border\"><div class=\"text-default v-spacing\"><p>32th position</p></div></td>                                    </tr>\n                        </tbody>\n            </table>\n</div>\n<p><strong>Additional \u200b information:</strong></p><ul class=\"release-content-list release-content-list--bulleted release-content-list--align-inherit\"><li><span><strong>Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings</strong><br>\u200bThe THE World University Rankings assess universities across five key areas: teaching (the learning environment), research (volume, income, and reputation), citations (research influence), international outlook (staff, students, and research), and industry income (knowledge transfer). This ranking is widely used but has been criticized for favoring institutions with large research budgets and for making global comparisons that may overlook contextual differences between universities</span></li><li><span><strong>CWTS Leiden Ranking</strong><br>\u200bThe CWTS Leiden Ranking is compiled by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University. It focuses purely on scientific impact and collaboration, using bibliometric indicators, such as number of publications and number of citations. Unlike other rankings, CWTS does not rely on reputation surveys or subjective assessments, making it a more data-driven approach. The ranking is recognized for offering more nuanced views of scientific performance by including field-normalized indicators.</span></li><li><span><strong>Horizon Europe</strong> is the European Union&rsquo;s funding programme for research and innovation, with a budget of &euro;95.5 billion for the period 2021-2027. It supports the development of scientific research, technological innovation, and projects aimed at solving global challenges like climate change and healthcare. Universities participating in Horizon Europe often collaborate in international research consortia, which is an important factor in their research output and impact. </span></li><li><span><strong>Horizon 2020 </strong>was the European Union&#039;s research and innovation funding program that ran from 2014 to 2020, with a budget of nearly &euro;80 billion. Its main objective was to drive economic growth and create jobs by investing in groundbreaking research and innovative projects addressing societal challenges such as climate change, energy efficiency, health, and digital technologies.</span></li></ul><a href='https://cdn.uc.assets.prezly.com/e1cd14f9-a2b2-41ab-8067-2fba6aab47e2/-/inline/no/alternatieve-ranking-vub-samenvatting.pdf' class='release-content-attachment' id='attachment-e1cd14f9-a2b2-41ab-8067-2fba6aab47e2' data-type='attachment' data-track='Story File Download' data-placement='content' data-id='e1cd14f9-a2b2-41ab-8067-2fba6aab47e2'>\n    <span class='release-content-attachment__icon'>\n        <svg class=\"icon icon-download\">\n                <use xlink:href=\"#icon-download\"></use>\n            </svg>\n    </span>\n    <span class='release-content-attachment__details'>\n        <strong class='release-content-attachment__title'>Download the study note (in Dutch)</strong>\n        <em class='release-content-attachment__subtitle'>Alternatieve ranking VUB samenvatting.pdf - 338 KB</em>\n    </span>\n</a><h4 id=\"contact\" ><strong>Contact</strong></h4><ul class=\"release-content-list release-content-list--bulleted release-content-list--align-inherit\"><li><span>Vicerector Research Pieter Ballon</span><ul class=\"release-content-list release-content-list--bulleted release-content-list--align-inherit\"><li><span>Phone number available through the press office</span></li></ul></li></ul><div class=\"release-content-contact\" id=\"contact-cabf5976-37cb-4a42-99cd-3c90e5b23c9d\">\n    <div class=\"release-content-contact__avatar\"><img src=\"https://cdn.uc.assets.prezly.com/03e8b28c-9d30-467d-b943-a08d956bc16b/-/crop/3590x3591/898,0/-/preview/-/scale_crop/128x128/center/-/format/auto/\" alt=\"Nathalie Vlaemynck\" class=\"release-content-contact__avatar-image\" /></div>\n    <div class=\"release-content-contact__details\">\n        <strong class=\"release-content-contact__name\">Nathalie Vlaemynck</strong>\n        <em class=\"release-content-contact__description\">Woordvoerder en algemeen perscontact (beschikbaar op maandag, dinsdag en woensdagvoormiddag)</em>\n        <ul class=\"release-content-contact__details-list\"><li class=\"release-content-contact__details-list-item\"><a href=\"mailto:nathalie.vlaemynck@vub.be\"  class=\"release-content-contact__details-list-item-link\" title=\"nathalie.vlaemynck@vub.be\"><svg class=\"icon icon-paper-plane release-content-contact__details-list-item-icon\">\n                <use xlink:href=\"#icon-paper-plane\"></use>\n            </svg>nathalie.vlaemynck@vub.be</a></li>\n<li class=\"release-content-contact__details-list-item\"><a href=\"tel:+32 479 87 23 26\"  class=\"release-content-contact__details-list-item-link\" title=\"+32 479 87 23 26\"><svg class=\"icon icon-mobile release-content-contact__details-list-item-icon\">\n                <use xlink:href=\"#icon-mobile\"></use>\n            </svg>+32 479 87 23 26</a></li>\n<li class=\"release-content-contact__details-list-item\"><a href=\"https://www.vub.be\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"release-content-contact__details-list-item-link\" title=\"vub.be\"><svg class=\"icon icon-browser release-content-contact__details-list-item-icon\">\n                <use xlink:href=\"#icon-browser\"></use>\n            </svg>vub.be</a></li></ul>\n    </div>\n</div><p>&nbsp;</p>",
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