The North-West University (NWU) is firmly positioning itself as a globally engaged, innovative university committed to excellence and societal relevance. Prime examples of how the strategic priorities of the NWU align with the quest for globally relevant, sustainable solutions are the establishment and proposed establishment of three future-fit academic schools: the Desmond Tutu School of Medicine, the School of Mines and Mining Engineering, and the School of Veterinary Sciences.
These and other innovative, cross-sectoral initiatives exemplify the university’s strategy – Taking the NWU forward: 2024 and beyond – which prioritises internationalisation, partnerships and impact, among other things. This focus on strategic priorities is yielding positive results through the NWU’s consistently good performance in international rankings, cementing its reputation as a competitive, impactful global and local player and a sought-after higher-education partner.
The latest Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings place the NWU among the top eight universities in South Africa and in the top 16 in Africa. London-based QS published its rankings for top global universities for 2026 on 19 June.
This current ranking encompasses 1 501 universities in 105 locations across the world. It considers survey responses and hard data to calculate a final score for each university. QS is the only ranking of its kind to emphasise employability and sustainability.
This year’s QS World University Rankings also introduce a new unweighted indicator called the International Student Diversity Indicator. This additional metric considers the ratio of international students to overall students and the diversity of nationalities those students represent. In this metric the NWU is in the 801+ ranking category.
These latest rankings follow the QS World University Rankings by Subject, which were published in March this year.
The Rankings by Subject placed four NWU subject groups in the top 850 globally. These are agriculture and forestry (301 to 350 category), environmental sciences (501 to 550), physics (551 to 600) and medicine (701 to 850).
Another recent ranking, released on 2 June, is the Global 2000 list by the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR), which placed the NWU in the top 4,1% of global universities.
Taking the NWU forward: 2024 and beyond
The university’s new strategy for 2024 and beyond comprises four key strategic priorities to guide the NWU in its continued quest towards excellence. These are results-orientated leadership, systems thinking and policy fluency, private-public value co-creation, and digital and green economy enablement.
According to Prof Linda du Plessis, deputy vice-chancellor for Teaching and Learning, the NWU’s continued good performance in the rankings affirms the impact of the work that NWU academics, researchers and other staff are undertaking, and that the university’s strategic focus aligns with global trends.
For more information, visit: https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/north-west-university, and for more about the NWU’s performance in various rankings, visit https://www.nwu.ac.za/rankings.
