HSE Pushes ahead Six Places in QS EECA-2015 Ranking

The QS University Rankings: EECA 2015 was published on October 21, assessing universities from 30 countries in Emerging Europe and Central Asia for 150 coveted positions in the ranking. Over the past year, the Higher School of Economics has gone from 37th place to 31st, improving across all metrics.

HSE in Rankings

Nearly all of the Russian universities that made it to the rating either improved or maintained their position compared with last year. In addition, Russia leads the QS EECA by overall number of universities – nearly a third of the universities ranked are Russian. ‘We are seeing Russia as a leader in the rankings with four universities in the top ten, and half of them are participants in the 5-100 Project. Our top universities were competing with some of the strongest Eastern European universities that have long-held traditions,’ notes Russia’s Deputy Minister of Education and Science, Alexander Povalko.

QS EECA, like any comprehensive rating, is important for applicants, as it is an important benchmark for comparing opportunities to study in another country. In addition, these kinds of ratings serve as an assessment of the quality of the universities, as well as the change in their professional reputation. HSE Rector Yaroslav Kuzminov notes that with these goals in mind, it is more important to look at the subject and faculty ratings, as they are a way for professionals to assess other professionals.

‘Over the last two years, Russian universities have made a tremendous breakthrough, entering the world’s top-100 and top-200 lists in several areas of the natural, social, and technical sciences. These are some of the first results of the governmental programme to improve the international competitiveness of Russia’s leading universities. I don’t doubt that if this programme continues, we will see Russian universities in the overall top-100 list. This will just take some time, maybe eight or 10 years. It’s one thing when your foreign colleagues think highly of you; it’s another when this information is disseminated to experts who represent entirely different professions,’ Kuzminov adds.

There were a total of 11 Russian universities in the QS EECA top 50, HSE being the youngest. ‘A significant portion of international university rankings is typically made up of the university’s reputation, which takes years to develop. And we are thrilled to see that, despite our young age, the international expert community values our achievements,’ Kuzminov concludes.

Reputation metrics make up 50% of the QS EECA rating. ‘This year, HSE was able to substantially improve its academic reputation performance indicators (from 60.4 out of 100 points last year to 82.7 points this year), as well as its employer reputation indicators (from 66.4 to 77.1). The university also boosted the percentage of foreign instructors hired on the international labour market. These instructors uphold the highest professional standards, which QS experts were also able to see,’ HSE Ranking Information Centre Director Liudmila Solntseva says. 

The QS University Rankings: Emerging Europe and Central Asia were first released in 2014 and included 100 universities at the time. This year’s ratings grew to 150 positions, covering 368 universities from 30 countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kosovo, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.