On Wednesday, 31 October 2018 the results of QS Emerging Europe and Central Asia 2019 Rankings (QS EECA) were released. Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) improved its position in 5 indicators out of 11 and is now one of the 50 best universities in the region considered.
The aim of QS EECA is to rank the universities of Eastern and Central Europe and Central Asia. This year, more than 450 institutions were assessed and 305 best made it to the rankings. There are 8 Lithuanian institutions among them.
The growing popularity of KTU among global scientific community and the quality of the University graduates’ education is reflected in Academic Reputation and Employer Reputation criteria – KTU improved its position by two places in Academic and climbed up one place in Employer Reputation criteria.
“According to the organisers of the Rankings the reputation criteria are of upmost importance when evaluating the quality of a higher education institution. This year KTU is the 26th by Employer Reputation among all the institutions ranked, and this indicator is the strongest one for the University”, says Lolita Jurkšienė, Head of KTU Strategy Monitoring and Processes Office.
Exceptional attention towards study quality and the aim to create good study, research and leisure environment is reflected in the improved KTU results nationally and internationally. The strongest evidence of this is the growing number of international students. This year KTU climbed up by 6 positions in International Students indicator. In addition, Faculty Student ratio improved by 24% this year.
The University’s staff academic qualifications were also ranked higher this year. The positive change for KTU is observed in Staff with PhD criteria – the University climbed up by 8 positions; the Papers per Faculty indicator increased by 10%.
“The improved rank of these criteria is related to the University’s continuous efforts to improve and develop the research potential of the staff, to expand networks of high-profile researchers and scientists, to improve the quality of science production”, says Jurkšienė.
The greatest climb for KTU this year is in Web Impact criteria, where the University moved up by 17 positions.
Overall, the institution improved its performance by 1 place and now is ranked the 50th among Emerging Europe and Central Asia universities. Since 2014, KTU gained 11 places; over the 5 years, the University moved up twice.
