Brussels, 04/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - A new study published on Monday 4 April shows that US universities are excelling in the research area, whilst their European counterparts are mainly differentiating themselves by their level of collaboration. This is the conclusion in the "U-Multirank" ratings that is partly funded by Erasmus + (€4 million between 2013-17).
Project leader Frans van Vught explained that "U-Multirank again demonstrates that there are different ways in which a university can excel. Research is obviously an important aspect but the diversity of aims is crucial for the success of higher education as a whole".
U-Multirank was launched in 2014 to compare the performances of 1300 education establishments in the world (including universities, specialist colleges and academies). This third edition covers more than 3250 faculties and 1700 study programmes. It focuses on five performance criteria: research; the transfer of skills; international orientation; regional engagement, and teaching and learning. Compared to 2015, there are also six new subjects: biology, chemistry, mathematics, history, sociology and work and social well-being.
The ranking illustrates that US universities were more successful in the number of publications they produced between 2011-14. On the other hand, European universities were at the top of the ranking in respect of interdisciplinary research (14/25), joint publications with industrial partners (16/25), joint international publications (10/25), regional engagement (21/25) and continued professional development (18/25), student mobility (21/25) and student training (13/16). The EU is at the top of the ranking in terms of mobility and student training, whilst Germany has been particularly successful in terms of its publications with industrial partners (Reutlingen UAS, Nuremberg IoT & Munich UAS in the top 3).
The 4th U-multirank will be published in March 2017. The U-multirank 2016 can be consulted at: http://www.umultirank.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/UMR-Top-25-Performers-Lists_2016.pdf . (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)