Compilers of a new table of the world’s best universities predict that top British universities will fall away from their current high ranking and become mediocre within a generation. On the other hand, Asian educational institutions are climbing the ladder of the ‘Times Higher Education’ rankings.
In terms of international universities, Caltech university from Pasadena, California takes the top spot followed by Stanford and Oxford, however as one goes further down the rankings, both British and US universities are slipping further down. Universities such as Leeds, Bristol, and Birmingham have slipped, while others such as Sussex and St Andrews have crossed out of the top 100 universities. The top three British universities at the moment are London, Oxford and Cambridge.
Internationally, China boasts Peking University and Tsinghua University in the top 200, whereas Singapore and Korea also have two and five universities in the top 200, all of which have climbed in ranking this year.
The director general of the Russell Group, Wendy Piatt, concluded that if British universities are to stay at the top of the list, the government would have to focus investment in their world class research intensive universities. Piatt went on to mention that other fast rising foreign universities are being well funded by their governments as they recognise this as the key to their growth.
