logo
QS University Rankings 2026: List Of Top Universities In The World

QS University Rankings 2026: List Of Top Universities In The World

News182 days ago

Last Updated:
The QS World University Rankings 2026 list over 1,500 universities, with MIT at the top and IIT Delhi ranked highest among Indian institutions at 123.
The QS World University Rankings 2026, released on Thursday, include over 1,500 universities from more than 100 countries. The rankings highlight changes in global higher education, with the United States still leading, while many Asian and European countries have shown improvement.
In a press release, QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) announced that nearly 500 institutions have improved their rankings compared to last year. The rise is attributed to better performance in areas such as citations per faculty, international student ratio, and sustainability.
MIT Stays On Top, UK And US Lead The Top 10
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) continues to hold the number one spot for the 14th year in a row. It is followed by Imperial College London and Stanford University, which moved up from sixth to third place. Other top 10 universities include the University of Oxford, Harvard University, University of Cambridge, ETH Zurich, National University of Singapore (NUS), University College London (UCL), and Caltech.
The top 10 list remains mostly the same as last year, with only slight changes in ranking. The United States has the highest number of universities in the list, with 192 institutions, many of which improved their positions.
Top Indian Universities In QS World University Rankings 2026
First Published:
June 19, 2025, 16:20 IST

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

International conference at JNU discusses integration and promotion of Indian knowledge systems
International conference at JNU discusses integration and promotion of Indian knowledge systems

Time of India

time5 hours ago

  • Time of India

International conference at JNU discusses integration and promotion of Indian knowledge systems

New Delhi: A three-day international conference on Indian knowledge systems will be held at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) from July 10 to 12. Experts from different fields will present their views on the legacy and challenges of Indian knowledge systems. The conference will explore ways to integrate Indian knowledge systems into modern education, industry, govt, and civil society while fostering collaboration with Himalayan nations. "The conference is also being seen as a response to the dominance of European cultural paradigms in shaping scientific discourse worldwide. This mega academic gathering aims to project Indian knowledge systems as an alternative and complementary framework in global academia," said an official. It will provide an international platform for research presentations and discussions aimed at building a collective scientific community. The event will also aim to establish a global network to promote Indian knowledge systems within the global academic and research communities. The official added, "Through this platform, efforts will be made to connect Indian knowledge traditions with contemporary global scientific paradigms and challenges". The conference will highlight fields such as engineering sciences and natural sciences, demonstrating how Indian knowledge systems provide unique insights into humanity, nature, and the pursuit of knowledge.

China builds laser weapon that works in Arctic cold and desert heat
China builds laser weapon that works in Arctic cold and desert heat

Business Standard

time9 hours ago

  • Business Standard

China builds laser weapon that works in Arctic cold and desert heat

Chinese scientists have developed a high-powered laser system that can function reliably across some of the Earth's harshest temperature conditions—ranging from -50 degrees Celsius in Arctic regions to 50 degrees Celsius in desert environments such as the Sahara—without the need for heating or cooling systems. According to a report by South China Morning Post, the 2-kilowatt fibre laser was designed by a team led by Chen Jinbao, vice-president of the National University of Defence Technology (NUDT), a prominent figure in high-energy laser research. The laser's compact and portable design marks a sharp departure from existing systems with similar power outputs, such as the European HELMA-P or India's IDDIS, which rely on bulky container-sized cooling infrastructure and truck-mounted platforms. Breakthrough in temperature-resilient laser tech 'Our team has achieved a technological breakthrough in the performance of wide-temperature operating fibre lasers,' Chen and his colleagues wrote in a peer-reviewed paper to be published in July in the Chinese-language journal Higher Power Laser and Particle Beams. The system's resilience stems from several design innovations. These include the use of 940-nanometre pump lasers that exhibit minimal thermal drift and the configuration of nine forward and 18 backward fibre-coupled diode lasers for light injection. Crucially, pump combiners were placed outside the resonator chamber to protect heat-sensitive components, and ytterbium-doped fibre was coiled at 8cm diameters to suppress unwanted parasitic lightwaves. At the heart of the laser lies a dual-clad optical resonator, with highly reflective gratings at both ends enclosing ytterbium-doped fibres. When pumped, ytterbium ions emit photons that are amplified into a powerful 1,080nm beam, filtered and collimated through quartz end-caps. Lab tests confirm consistent high performance In simulations mimicking rapid shifts between freezing and scorching environments, the laser consistently delivered over 2kW in output, peaking at 2.47kW at 20 degrees Celsius. It achieved a power efficiency of 71 per cent with near-perfect beam quality. Ytterbium, a rare earth element largely sourced from China, played a pivotal role in this achievement. Its quantum properties enable efficient energy conversion while resisting performance degradation at high temperatures—a phenomenon known as thermal quenching. Compact system suited for rapid deployment Chen's team stressed the need for wide-temperature capability as laser systems find expanding applications beyond controlled indoor settings. 'To ensure stable output, all standard fibre lasers require integrated cooling systems to maintain temperature control for internal components and optical paths, resulting in a narrow operating temperature range typically centred around room temperature,' the researchers noted. By contrast, the NUDT prototype approaches suitcase-scale portability, a stark contrast to shipping container-sized alternatives in use globally. This makes it particularly suitable for quick deployment in remote, mobile, or conflict-prone environments where temperature extremes are common. Applications across defence and industry 'Fibre lasers offer high efficiency, low cost and compact size, enabling widespread deployment across industrial processing, optoelectronic countermeasures, precision cutting and other fields,' the researchers wrote. They added that future work will focus on pushing the output power higher and broadening the laser's effective operating temperature range. The development signals a significant advance in China's laser weapon capabilities, with implications for both defence and industrial technologies.

How face of a woman who lived 10,500 years ago, now reconstructed, challenges ‘genetic uniformity' among European hunter-gatherers
How face of a woman who lived 10,500 years ago, now reconstructed, challenges ‘genetic uniformity' among European hunter-gatherers

Indian Express

time9 hours ago

  • Indian Express

How face of a woman who lived 10,500 years ago, now reconstructed, challenges ‘genetic uniformity' among European hunter-gatherers

With DNA extracted from the body's remains, researchers have reconstructed the face of a woman who lived approximately 10,500 years ago in present-day Belgium. The findings of this analysis challenge earlier assumptions about genetic uniformity among European Mesolithic populations. The team, led by scientists from Ghent University, used advanced genetic and archaeological methods to bring the prehistoric figure to life—revealing a woman with blue eyes, slightly lighter skin, and distinct facial features. Archaeologist Philippe Crombé told CNN 'good quaity' DNA was taken from the woman's skull. The woman's facial reconstruction, including skin tone, hair, and eye colour, was derived from ancient DNA analysis, while other elements like her jewelry and tattoos were informed by broader archaeological evidence. The findings challenge previous assumptions that European hunter gatherers shared the same genetic makeup, according to Project Lead Isabelle De Groote. It also shows that there was already considerable variation in skin color among different populations. 'She had lighter skin than many other Mesolithic people studied so far,' Groote said. 'From the skull, we could also tell she was between 35 and 60 years old…. She had a high nasal bridge and strong brow ridges,' she added, highlighting that the features were similar to the Cheddar Man in the UK. Crombé noted that while most Mesolithic DNA samples belong to a similar genetic group, 'it is to be expected that in the wide area of Western Europe there's some variability, as there is today.' The woman's remains were discovered in the Margaux cave in Dinant during an excavation in the late 1980s, alongside the bodies of eight other women. Many of the bodies were sprinkled with ochre—an indicator of symbolic or ritual behavior—and covered with stone fragments. One skeleton bore post-mortem cut marks. De Groote noted that the 'cave was used over several hundred of years so that they were places of memory that people would go back to despite their mobile hunter-gatherer lifestyle.' 'They were still moving around because they were entirely dependent on natural resources,' Crombé explained. 'That forced them to move their settlements regularly.' The team is now working to analyse relationships among the buried individuals and studying dietary habits, including how much fish they consumed. (With inputs from CNN)

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store