THE ranking: KTU – the strongest technical university in Lithuania

Earlier this week, Times Higher Education World University Ranking (THE WUR) announced the latest ranking results. Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) improved its position in the ranking this year and secured a place among the 1001–1200 best higher education institutions in the world.

Five Lithuanian universities are included in this ranking. Based on its position, KTU is recognised as the strongest technical university in Lithuania, and when evaluating Lithuanian universities as a whole, it shares second place with the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences.

A leap forward in science and education

The Times Higher Education (THE) ranking evaluates higher education institutions according to five main criteria: Teaching, Research Environment, Research Quality, International Outlook and Industry.

The latest ranking reveals that KTU has improved its results in all evaluated criteria this year.

KTU’s biggest leap, up 123 positions, can be seen in the “Teaching” criterion, which includes the number of staff with doctoral degrees, the ratio of doctoral to undergraduate students, the ratio of students to staff, and institutional income. The results of the international reputation survey conducted by the organisers of the THE WUR ranking are also included.

The most significant change in KTU’s results in terms of ranking points can be seen in the “Research Quality” criterion. With this criterion, the ranking organisers seek to assess the impact of research carried out at the university, its level of expertise (mastery) and its influence on society. At the same time, the quality of research carries the most weight in the ranking and is therefore one of the most important criteria.

Rising international reputation

The university performed best in the “Research Environment” criterion, which is determined by academic reputation, research income and productivity indicators. Additionally, KTU increased its score in another important criterion of the THE WUR rankings, which assesses income received from collaboration with industrial companies and the number of patents.

“These criteria are closely linked, so it is encouraging that they are both improving. What do these results tell us? Firstly, they show that KTU’s efforts to create and develop an environment conducive to high-quality research are increasingly recognised internationally. Our university is undoubtedly one of the key players in Lithuania’s innovation ecosystem, promoting collaboration between academia and industry, and fostering strong scientific and business networks,” emphasises Dr Jurkšienė.

According to her, the university provides access to high-tech infrastructure and support for innovation development (including experimentation, testing, prototyping and commercialisation).

“In pursuit of Lithuania’s national goals of attracting high-value overseas investment and developing a competitive innovation environment, we have become a valuable incubator for start-ups. Our broad areas of research and development are in line with national strategies, particularly those relating to smart specialisation. This undoubtedly justifies KTU’s contribution to creating a favourable environment for top-level research, industrial development, and innovation,” she emphasises.

Small market, big achievements

According to the Director of Strategy and Quality Management at KTU, KTU has long been a partner to society in addressing social problems, promoting knowledge transfer and entrepreneurship, and expanding access to research infrastructure for the public. She says that all of this is beginning to be reflected in international markets.

“It is important to constantly remind ourselves that, compared to many higher-ranking universities in other countries, we represent a small market with relatively little funding. The ability to be ranked alongside some of the world’s strongest universities, even if it is in the thousands, is still a great achievement for every Lithuanian higher education institution,” says Dr Jurkšienė.

This year, 2,191 higher education institutions worldwide were ranked in THE, which is 5% more than last year.