PU takes forward leap after 5 yrs
After almost five years of stagnation, Panjab University (PU) improved its standing in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World Rankings to feature in the 901-950 bracket. Since 2021, the varsity had remained in the 1001-1200 range, even slipping into the 1201-1400 bracket once.
The rankings methodology included research and discovery, measuring an institution’s research quality, volume and its reputation in the academic community. Other indicators included employability and outcomes, learning experience, faculty-student ratio and global engagement, among others. Sustainability has been also accounted for.
Notably, PU showed improvement in all the parameters this year and recorded a huge jump—especially in citations per faculty and sustainability.
The varsity improved to 9.4 points from 7.8 in academic reputation this year, 43.5 from 24.1 in citations per faculty, 39.6 from 31.8 in employment outcomes, 11.5 from 7.3 in employer reputation, 10.3 from 6.2 in faculty-student ratio, 33 from 30.9 in international research network and 50.9 from 2.4 in sustainability.
“With a normalised citation score of 109.7 per faculty member (more than twice the global median of 52.0), the university demonstrated research productivity and ranked 10th nationally in employment outcomes, the university achieved improvement, outperforming the global median. Meanwhile, on sustainability related curriculum, there is bound to be further improvement in its performance,” said university Vice-Chancellor (VC) Renu Vig.
As many as 9,467 papers were published (2019-2023) and a 100,932 normalised citations were reported by the varsity.
The region’s private universities also performed well in the rankings, with Chandigarh University (CU) achieving the 575th rank. In the overall India rankings, Chandigarh University has placed 16th, up from 18th last year. It ranked second national among private varsities.
The varsity saw a jump of 25 ranks in employer reputation in comparison to last year and ranked 147th globally and seventh nationally.
“These rankings enthral and fill us with more commitment towards imparting quality education and set new benchmarks in higher education by nurturing young minds and equipping them with the skills, attitudes, and values needed to lead in various fields in the future,” said Satnam Singh Sandhu, Chandigarh University Chancellor and Rajya Sabha MP.
Meanwhile, Chitkara University held on to the 1201-1400 bracket with a score of 10 in academic reputation, 5.4 in citations per faculty, 1.7 employment outcomes, 10.9 in employer reputation, 18.2 in faculty student ratio, 13.1 in international faculty ration, 44 international research network, 9.1 in international student diversity, 5.4 in international student ratio and 47.4 in sustainability.
“The university has showed improvements in various indicators. We are dedicated to provide a better future with focus on enhancing practical knowledge which helps the institution to excel,” said Dr Madhu Chitkara, Pro Chancellor.
Meanwhile, PU Vice-Chancellor Renu Vig said this significant improvement in our global ranking is a demonstration to the collective efforts of our faculty, researchers, students and staff. Our focus areas for the coming years include enhancing international collaborations, research networks, and making university as a preferred academic destination for foreign students.
Chandigarh