Placing #126 in the Emerging Europe and Central Asia Region, in which over 3,300 universities operate, according to the QS World University Rankings 2021
The 2021 “QS World University Rankings: EECA”, released on 16 December 2020, once again rank the University of Nicosia (UNIC) as one of the top 4% of universities in the region, in which over 3,300 universities operate across 24 countries. More specifically, UNIC was ranked for a third consecutive year in the Emerging Europe and Central Asia (EECA) Region, out of the 600 universities that were assessed (and, ultimately, 400 ranked) this year by the global rankings agency.
The University’s consistently high results are noteworthy in a region characterised by dynamic growth in higher education, with strong representation from Russia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Croatia, Romania, Estonia, Lithuania, Turkey, and Ukraine. Moreover, UNIC’s top scoring indicators especially reflect its dynamic internationalisation efforts over the past decade, ranking #1 in the International Students indicator and #17 in the International Faculty indicator.
The QS EECA Rankings are based on 10 indicators and rely heavily on Academic and Employer Reputation, arrived at through an annual survey conducted by QS, designed to evaluate the perceptions of academics and employers around the world. This year, over 100,000 responses were recorded for the Academic Reputation Survey and almost 50,000 responses for the Employer Reputation Survey.
“The QS ranking results demonstrate the University of Nicosia’s commitment to be a global university, as evidenced by the high scores in the International Students and Faculty indicators. Capitalising on the University’s achievements in recent years, we aim at further extending our international partnerships and global impact in 2021 and beyond”, noted Professor Dimitris Drikakis, Vice President of Global Partnerships.
The QS World University Rankings round out a banner year for the University of Nicosia, as the latest in a succession of recent distinctions. Indicatively, the 2021 Times Higher Education World University Rankings (THE WUR) rank UNIC among the Top 801-1000 universities in the world. Along with its inclusion in the Top 1000 THE WUR table, UNIC was recognised by the 2020 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings (number 42 in the world in the core area of Quality Education), while also notably being awarded a 5-Star Institutional Rating as part of the 2020 QS Stars University Ratings System audit – joining an exclusive group of only 50 other universities globally.
Commenting on the newly-released results, the Rector of the University of Nicosia, Professor Philippos Pouyioutas, highlighted the University’s standing among the top universities in the region: “Being Ranked 126th by QS World University Rankings, essentially among the top 4% of universities operating in the EECA region, is a strong testament to the international recognition of our University and to our continued focus on teaching and learning quality, state-of-the-art research, and engagement with society“. Rector Pouyioutas concluded by referring to the people that have been instrumental in this success, and indeed in all of the University’s major achievements throughout a particularly challenging 2020: “I would like to wholeheartedly thank the entire University community, namely, the teaching, research, and administrative personnel, as well as our students and alumni, who are the driving force behind UNIC’s continued achievements and growing international reputation”.