In first ever, Iraqi University listed among best in the world
The University of Baghdad has distinguished itself for having been able to build an important network of academic partnerships. The importance of education with a view to post-war reconstruction. For the first time Japan exceeds the United Kingdom by number of universities. The Asian continent is growing and it could overtake Europe in the near future.
Baghdad (AsiaNews / Agencies) - For the first time in history, the University of Baghdad has entered the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, an annual list of the world's top 1250 universities for research and development. The most important university in Iraq has received a special mention for having been able to build an important network of academic partnerships at international level, despite the still precarious situation facing the country.
For the third year in a row, the University of Oxford is ranked in the first place of this special ranking. However, for the first time in history, a foreign nation, Japan, boasts a greater number of universities on the list than the United Kingdom, while the number one record remains the prerogative of the United States.
For the Times Higher Education, the University of Baghdad is in the range from 801 to a thousand. Phil Baty, Times editorial director emphasizes that the Iraqi university has distinguished itself for a "very strong international cooperation". This reflects the importance of universities - and, more generally, of education - with a view to post-conflict reconstruction of the nation.
For over four years, the University of Mosul, a metropolis in the north of the country, was under the control of the Islamic State (SI. Ex Isis). Besides sowing violence and terror, the Sunni fundamentalists blocked many courses and devastated its prestigious library. The rebirth of the university and the return of Christian students in the recent past was one of the first steps towards stabilizing the city.
In the special ranking dominated by US institutions, the first Asian university is the Chinese Tsinghua University, which is ranked 22nd. After the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom, China is the fourth in the world for the largest number of universities present (72 in total).
Experts confirm the progressive growth of the Asian continent, which in the near future could exceed Europe by the number of universities present in the ranking. Kazakhstan, Nepal and Tanzania have made their entry into the Times list this year - which evaluates the number of research and results, academic reputation, industrial income and international connections - for the first time in their history.
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