HYDERABAD, 15^th JUNE, 2020 (GPN): The announcement of the 2021 QS World University Rankings sees New Zealand’s highest ranked university, the University of Auckland, rise to 81st in the world.

This represents a year-on-year improvement of two places and a 13-place improvement since 2013/14.

The ranking comes on the heels of the University of Auckland being recognised as No.1 in the world for the second year in the Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings measured against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Vice-Chancellor Professor Dawn Freshwater, who joined the University in March this year, said she was delighted to see the world-class work of academics and staff recognised, particularly at a time when there is increased scrutiny on tertiary institutions.

“These rankings ensure that we are highly relevant to our global communities and stakeholders.” adds Professor Dawn Freshwater

“Today’s universities are locally, nationally and internationally connected institutions that bring significant social, cultural, economic and community benefits to their regions. As anchor institutions they help connect government, industry and society.

“They support important sustainability goals and they simultaneously develop local talent and attract international expertise – both critical for building an innovative, knowledge-based economy,” she said.

“These rankings, that recognise outstanding performance and judge us against our international peers, ensure that we are highly relevant to our global communities and stakeholders.”

The University of Auckland’s highest ranked component of the ranking is 59Th for Academic Reputation.

The QS World University Rankings, produced by global higher education consultancy QS Quacquarelli Symonds, rank the world’s top 1000 universities. They are one of the world’s most consulted source of comparative information about university performance, with their flagship website,www.TopUniversities.com, receiving over 149 million views in 2019. They are the only world university ranking to have received International Ranking Expert Group (IREG) approval.

In 2019, the University of Auckland has signed a historic agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur to offer a joint PhD programme, the first of its kind between a New Zealand university and IIT. University of Auckland also led the conversation with IIT Delhi to set up a New Zealand centre as a focal point of academic activity for all eight New Zealand Universities and IIT Delhi. ENDS

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