Switzerland remains a stronghold of top universities
The Federal Institutes of Technology Zurich (ETH) and Lausanne (EPFL), along with the University of Zurich, are ranked among the 100 best universities in the world in the latest ranking from higher education consultancy Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).
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Switzerland remains a stronghold of top universities
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ETH drops one place to eighth worldwide compared to last year in the QS rankings. EPFL remains in 22nd place, while the University of Zurich has moved up from 100th to 98th place.
For the 15th time in a row, first place goes to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Imperial College London remains in second place for the third year running, now sharing this position with Stanford University, which has risen from third place.
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The loss of a single ranking at ETH does not imply any fundamental decline in quality or reputation, QS told the Keystone-SDA news agency. At the top of the world rankings, even very small changes in relative performance compared to other leading universities can lead to shifts in the rankings.
“Overall, we therefore do not see the change from rank 7th to rank 8th as an indication of a downward trend,” the higher education consultancy stated.
Overall, Swiss universities showed mixed results. Of the ten institutions assessed in previous years, three improved, six declined, and one remained stable.
The Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) saw the biggest improvement, climbing 17 places to rank 456. According to QS, this was due to better performance in research citations.
The University of Basel managed to re-enter the top 150 thanks to improvements in academic reputation and employment results. Besides ETH, the universities of Geneva, Bern, Lausanne and Freiburg, as well as the Zurich University of Applied Sciences ZHAW, also lost some places in the rankings.
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Translated from German by AI/mga
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