“It’s easy to criticise rankings, but they aim to make sense of the complexity of what a university does and how we are working together to advance society. Lund University has been working systematically on strengthening our international reputation since 2021. It’s very gratifying, therefore, that Lund University has risen in the THE ranking for the third year in a row and that we continue to climb in all three of the major rankings despite tougher global competition. Our success shows the fantastic work that our students and staff have put in to create a top-class university and confirms that we are heading in the right direction,” says Vice-Chancellor Erik Renström.
The THE ranking is based on 13 indicators across five areas. One factor that weighs heavily is the evaluation surveys sent to teaching staff and researchers from other higher education institutions who list the 15 most important universities, and another is citations.
In total, there are around 17,000 higher education institutions around the world and of these, Times Higher ranks around 2,000 from 108 different countries. Lund University is ranked number 2 in Sweden.
In recent years, Lund University has improved its ranking with all the major international ranking organisations. Lund University is rated in the top 100 in the THE and the QS (placed 75). In 2024, Lund University achieved a significant improvement in the ARWU ranking, also known as the Shanghai ranking (101-150). Also worth mentioning is Lund University’s ranking at 8 in the world on the QS WUR: Sustainability.
Whatever your views on rankings, it is a factor that plays a major role in recruiting international students and new employees. It greatly affects the attractiveness of the University. Frankly put, losing a top 100 position also means that countries which sponsor their elite students with scholarships stop considering Lund and that successful universities around the world start looking for partners and collaborations with other universities.
At the same time, competition from the rest of the world is increasing, with many universities performing better and better. Ranking organisations identify several factors that they measure, but these sometimes change. How this affects their algorithms is a trade secret, at least in the case of Times Higher Education and QS.
The QS and the THE are both commercial. The third organisation, the Shanghai ranking, is different. It operates more as a way to benchmark the best Chinese universities and places great weight on the 3,500 most published researchers in the world. Nobel Prizes are also important. Anne L’Huillier’s Nobel Prize in Physics last year contributed to the University’s rise in the Shanghai rankings.
“A Nobel Prize means a lot, but it’s important to note that Lund University is gaining ground on a broad front and in many subject areas. There are plenty of indications that the work on the strategic platform, our global engagement and the investment we are making in the development of both learning and research has yielded results,” says Erik Renström
Over the past five years, the University has made many efforts to understand the ranking systems better and thus to strengthen the coordination of this work to analyse and improve our ranking. Further efforts are needed to maintain and develop these positions.
In spring 2024, a proposal was put forward for a coherent overall quality system. In the future, key metrics and quality indicators will be an integral part of the work to ensure quality and the development of education and research. International and national comparisons are central elements of a quality system and should be utilised to gain insight into how the organisation should develop.
“We are also continuing to work on indicators and key metrics for education. So far, the focus has been mostly on research. I would like to emphasise that the assessment of what constitutes good education and research is fundamentally a qualitative process, and that the role of key metrics is to focus extra attention on the areas that benefit the most. We are investing in quality so that we can defend this position internationally,” concludes Erik Renström.