The University of Iceland has for the first time been named amongst the world's top 500 universities on the renowned Shanghai Ranking. The new list for the year 2017 was released 15 August 2017. The rector announced the news at the annual forum of the University of Iceland, held at the University's Aula in the presence of the Minister of Education, Science and Culture. The rector considers this a great achievement and emphasises the University's growing competitiveness on an international level.
The University of Iceland is ranked in 401st to 500th place on the Shanghai Ranking, which is officially called the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU). The list has been released annually since 2003 and is based on the thorough and independent assessment of more than 1,200 universities worldwide conducted by ShanghaiRanking Consultancy. The assessment is based on six objective indicators, including the number of articles published in renowned scientific journals, the number of times research conducted at the university has been cited by other research scientists, the university's performance based on the number of employees as well as the number of employees receiving scientific awards for their contributions to individual fields of study.
Differing from previous years, ShanghaiRanking Consultancy also published universities ranked between 501st and 800th place in the 2017 list. These include institutions with the potential to climb to the top 500 in the coming years.
In addition to the Academic Ranking of World Universities, ShanghaiRanking Consultancy also releases lists of universities' achievements in individual academic subjects. In these Global Rankings of Academic Subjects, the University of Iceland came in 10th place in the field of Remote Sensing, which is a remarkable achievement. Remote sensing involves, for example, taking digital images from planes and satellites and using these to extract data regarding the Earth's surface. The aim of remote sensing research is to develop and improve methods for extracting information from remote sensing images as well as to collect and process remote sensing data. Remote sensing plays an important role in Iceland, where remote sensing technology has been used to map and monitor vegetation and changes in vegetation, land use as well as glacial changes. Remote sensing images have also been utilised to evaluate changes in temperature and geodetic height of geothermal areas and active volcanoes as well as for the surveillance of pack ice and sea temperatures.
The University is, moreover, ranked in 51st to 75th place in the field of Biological Sciences, in position 76-100 in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and in 101st to 150th place in the field of Earth Sciences. Additionally, research conducted at the various Schools of the University of Iceland earned the institution 201st to 300th place in the field of Clinic Medicine, rank 301-400 in Public Health as well as Human Biological Sciences, and rank 401-400 in the Global Ranking of Academic Subject in the field of Physics.
The Shanghai Ranking is one of two highly prestigious and influential rankings regarding the world's best academic institutions, the other being the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. The University of Iceland has been ranked on the Times Higher Education list six years in a row since the centennial of the University in 2011. Currently, the University of Iceland ranks in 242nd place on the Times Higher Education World University Rankings as well as in 15th place amongst the Scandinavian countries. The assessment is based on research work, the international impact of research conducted at the institution in questions, the quality of teaching, learning environment as well as international connections.
In his speech at the annual forum of the University of Iceland, Jón Atli Benediktsson, Rector of the University of Iceland, announced the University's ranking on the Shanghai list. He said that the staff and student body of the University is highly qualified and assiduous. Their amazing work and collaboration with partners in Iceland and abroad is the reason for the University's ranking. Jón Atli Benediktsson stressed the importance of continuing to build on these achievements and to ensure long-term funding for the University of Iceland. To achieve funding comparable with universities in other Scandinavian countries, the University requires an additional capital per year of approximately 8-9 thousand million ISK. One and a half thousand million ISK would need to be invested in the operation of the University of Iceland immediately, to meet the most urgent needs and strengthen the institution's operations.
Harvard University in the United States of America is considered the world's best university, according to ShanghaiRanking Consultancy's Academic Ranking of World Universities. It has held the top spot on the list for fifteen years in a row. Second place goes to Stanford University in the United States, while the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom holds third place. Nineteen of the top 20 spots on the Shanghai Ranking go to American and British universities.
The Academic Ranking of World Universities as well as information regarding the objective indicators the ranking is based on can be found on the website of ShanghaiRanking Consultancy.