The consistent good achievements of the North-West University (NWU) in world rankings is further celebrated with the announcement that it has been ranked in the top 4,7% of 20 000 universities globally.

This newest ranking was done by the Centre for World University Rankings (CWUR). The CWUR published their list of leading universities for 2020 to 2021 today, 8 June 2020.

According to the CWUR, the NWU is among the top 922 universities in 61 countries. The NWU also features in the top seven nationally, and our research performance is ranked at 877. This gives the university an overall score of 70,8, which is a remarkable achievement.

The CWUR annually publishes the largest academic rankings of global universities. It is a leading consulting organisation that provides policy advice, strategic insights and consulting services to governments and universities with the aim of improving educational and research outcomes.

Dr Nadim Mahassen, president of the CWUR, says their ranking is not only seen as authoritative, but is known for its objectivity, transparency and consistency. “It is trusted by students, academics, university administrators and governments from around the world.”

The CWUR’s rankings are unique in that universities are analysed and ranked according to their academic performance. The organisation puts equal emphasis on the learning environment and on research.

According to the CWUR, they use only objective indicators for all four key pillars underlying their ranking methodology. These are the quality of education, alumni employment, quality of faculties and research performance.

The NWU’s quality education has also earned it a place among the top five South African universities in the THE Emerging Economies ranking that was released in February 2020 (https://news.nwu.ac.za/nwu-among-top-5-sa-universities-emerging-economies-ranking).

This followed after the university had been placed in the top five and top seven of local universities in the THE World University Rankings for law studies and business economics respectively in November last year (https://news.nwu.ac.za/nwu-consistently-among-top-sa-universities-rankings).

“Our performance in both research and teaching-learning continues to improve. We must be proud and celebrate these achievements that contribute towards our dream to be an internationally recognised university in Africa, distinguished for engaged scholarship, social responsiveness and an ethic of care. To be counted among some of the best in the world, particularly when one considers our history and location in South Africa, is surely an achievement. The journey continues,” vice-chancellor and principal of the NWU, Prof Dan Kgwadi, remarked.

For more information on the newest rankings visit: http://cwur.org/2020-21.php.