JOIN USPanel tells IISc, IITs to aim for world top-100 list
Top Indian Institutes including IISc and IITs do not figure in the top 100 list of global universities, while IISc manages to rank at the top within the country, according to rankings undertaken for 2014 by the UK-based Times Higher Education magazine for the top 100 prestigious universities in the world.
A Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) committee has asked IISc and IITs to tone up their academic work and take up concrete measures to improve ranking and reputation worldwide. The committee was set up to enquire into reasons why IISc or IITs do not figure in the top 100 list. The committee had the task of talking to heads of IISc and IITs to understand the rankings and the criteria to be fulfilled to be part of the top 100.
The committee has found that in terms of number of laboratories, number of researchers, published papers and citations, the IISc lags several top universities in the world, particularly from US, UK, China and South Korea. But the IITs have argued that they have not been marketed well by the country, as a result of which they are not seen in the right places at the right time.
The committee states that Indian Institute of Science continues to be the most highly rated university in India, though its position dropped from around 130th place to just below 200 in the world. IIT Bombay is now in the 210-220 group, while IIT, Delhi and IIT, Kanpur are near the 250th position in the world. Among the BRIC nations, India is the only one which does not have a university in the world top 100, China has two, both in the top 50, followed by Russia and Brazil with one each.
Former faculty at the Institute feel that IISc and IITs have global reputation to the extent that students from these institutes have been working in prestigious universities abroad as faculty, research scholars and students.
Collaborations required
“They have managed to write papers equal in number to those from other parts of the world. Their citations are also fairly good. What is required is a higher number of collaborations between IISc and research institutes in other countries. This will lend publicity to the way IISc scholars function, the courses they take up and the disciplines that are being taught here,” the faculty said.
The IISc students have worked in global Fortune 500 companies, which gives them a fair degree of international presence. IISc scholars are seen in companies like IBM, HP, Motorola, Accenture, GE, Deloitte and Genpact.
The former faculty feel that more is required than just presence in companies and universities. “It is not enough if we bring up trained, technical personnel. “We need cutting-edge work which leads to new leads in a subject if not discoveries. Breakthroughs are vital to build reputation and credibility. It’s not enough to say that we’re as good as others unless we bring up new results often that are path-breaking. If we do this, the rankings will take care of themselves.”