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India Today
a day ago
- Business
- India Today
How IIT Delhi pulled off India's fastest QS climb - a 27-place leap to the top
IIT Delhi's dramatic 27-spot climb in the QS World University Rankings 2026 -- from 150 to 123 globally -- is the biggest leap any Indian university has ever made in a single year in the top 200 bracket. This is also the highest global rank ever achieved by an Indian institute in QS Indian institutes have typically seen annual improvements of 5–15 spots, if at all. A jump this big, this fast, is rare, and reflects deep structural gains -- across research, global links, and a proud moment for IIT Delhi,' said Prof Vivek V Buwa, Dean of Planning and Head of the Rankings Cell. 'I would like to congratulate present and past faculty members, students, 64,000+ alumni, the Ministry of Education (Govt. of India), and all the stakeholders who have contributed to this success.' The QS World University Rankings 2026 were released today and 54 Indian institutes featured on the list. This year, QS evaluated approximately 8,467 institutions globally but only 1,501 made it into the final 2026 rankings DROVE THE QS RANKING SURGE?The biggest push came from strong performance in two major QS metrics: employer reputation and citations per reputation simply means how well employers across the world rate an institute's graduates. Citations per faculty shows how often the research work by faculty is used or quoted by other researchers Buwa explained: 'Improvements in academic and employer reputation, citations per faculty which is an indicator of high-quality cutting edge research undertaken by IIT Delhi faculty members and students, strong international research network and improvements in sustainability rankings.'Much of this is backed by robust research infrastructure. 'With the support for the Government through the Ministry of Education, in particularly, the Institute of Eminence (IoE) Scheme, IIT Delhi has set up high-end research facilities,' he institute gets Rs 300-400 crore every year through sponsored R&D projects -- and some of them are truly like the Affordable Ventilator Initiative during COVID-19, the Smart Campus Energy Management System, the Drone-based agricultural solutions project, and TRDC's regional air quality monitoring tech have not only served the nation but gained international Delhi has also contributed to space-grade electronics for ISRO missions and AI-driven water conservation tools. ALUMNI WHO KEEP GIVING BACKIIT Delhi's alumni spread across top global firms, tech startups, and research labs have become central to its brand are about 64,000 alumni of IIT Delhi who are working in different sectors in India as well as across the globe, and have significantly contributed to research, technology development, successful startups/unicorns, and many other areas,' Prof Buwa contributions include major donations. The School of Artificial Intelligence was launched in 2020 with a Rs 25 crore donation from alumni, and the Bharti School of Telecommunication was set up in 2000 with Rs 100 crore funding from Sunil Bharti Mittal and Bharti GLOBAL: FROM JOINT PHDs TO ABU DHABIIIT Delhi isn't just stopping here. The institute is actively pushing global connections.'IIT Delhi has already started joint degree program (at PhD level), the institute is working on joint master's degree programs,' said Prof already offers joint PhD programmes with the University of Queensland (Australia), National Chiao Tung University (Taiwan), and the University of Waterloo (Canada) — launched over the last 5–7 years. More are in the works, alongside a drive to enrol international the IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi campus, launched in 2024, is set to offer undergraduate and postgraduate programmes tailored for international PLANS'IIT Delhi has a strong potential to improve its ranking further and be in top 100 world universities in near future,' said Prof the momentum it's building -- global research, real-world projects, and powerful alumni — the top 100 might just be within Watch
The Print
23-05-2025
- Business
- The Print
No new ‘Institute of Eminence' tags likely from Centre. How the programme has fared so far
Under the scheme, 10 public and 10 private universities/institutes were supposed to get the tag. Public institutions were promised up to Rs 1,000 crore each as additional funding over 5 years, along with full academic and administrative autonomy, while private universities were to receive the same autonomy but without any financial support. Launched with great publicity in 2017, the Institute of Eminence (IoE) scheme aimed to propel Indian higher education institutions into top global rankings, with an initial plan to grant the prestigious tag to 20 institutions. But between 2018 and 2021, only 12, including eight public and four private institutes, received the status. New Delhi: The Centre is unlikely to grant the Institute of Eminence (IoE) status to any more higher education institutions—falling short of its 20-institute target—with even Reliance Group's Jio Institute in Mumbai still awaiting the coveted tag, ThePrint has learnt. In 2018, the government first named six institutions—three public and three private—as the first recipients of the IoE status. The public institutes included the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru, Indian Institute Of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi), and IIT Bombay, while the private institutes featured Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani, and Reliance Foundation's Jio Institute, the latter falling under the 'Greenfield' category for institutions yet to be established. Between 2018 and 2020, all except Jio Institute were formally granted the status, along with six additional institutions: IIT Madras, IIT Kharagpur, University of Delhi, University of Hyderabad, Banaras Hindu University, and OP Jindal Global University. Jio Institute's process, however, stalled at the memorandum of understanding (MoU) stage after the tenure of the Empowered Expert Committee (EEC)—tasked with steering the IoE selection—expired in February 2021. The EEC has not been reconstituted since, leaving the MoU signing between the government and the institute pending since 2021. A member of the former EEC said that some other private institutes were also expected to receive the IoE. 'Apart from Jio Institute, there were others like Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) and Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), whose processes had started but were never completed because the committee's tenure expired. But the difference between them and Jio is they were already existing and functional, but Jio was new,' the member told ThePrint, requesting anonymity. While there has been no official announcement regarding the closure of the scheme, senior government officials indicated that it is now unlikely the EEC will be revived or that additional institutions will be granted IoE status. 'The government has already allocated a significant portion of the promised funding to public institutions, and at this stage, extending the status to more institutes seems unlikely,' a senior official, speaking anonymously, told ThePrint, while emphasising that a final call is yet to be taken. While no official reason has been provided for not extending the IoE status to additional institutions, officials suggested the decision is primarily due to 'financial considerations'. When asked about the future of the Jio Institute, the official said that it is already 'functional' and that the 'institute has started offering courses'. Jio Institute, which received approval from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) in 2022, currently offers three postgraduate programmes—in artificial intelligence and data science; management with a specialisation in marketing; and sports management. ThePrint has reached out to the institute for comments on its future plans and the pending IoE status. This report will be updated as and when a response is received. In its March report, a parliamentary standing committee noted that nearly 8 years after the programme's launch, only 12 of the mandated 20 institutes have been notified as IoEs, recommending to expedite the process for the remaining universities. Also read: Smart boards & shiny new desks stuck in red tape, Noida school kids study on mats in principal office Implementation of the scheme One of the major objectives of the scheme was to transform higher education institutions in India into world-class academic and research hubs, with the goal of reaching the top 500 globally within 10 years, and eventually breaking into the top 100. Although the global rankings of IoEs have shown improvement in recent years, none have broken into the top 100. In the QS World University Rankings 2025, IIT Bombay ranked 118, IIT Delhi 150, IISc Bengaluru 211, IIT Kharagpur 222, IIT Madras 227, and the University of Delhi 328. The remaining IoEs were ranked beyond 800, while Shiv Nadar University did not participate. There was a noticeable improvement in the 2025 rankings for nearly all institutions compared to 2024, when IIT Delhi was ranked 197, IIT Bombay 149, and IISc 225, among others. Pankaj Chachadi, Deputy Registrar at IIT Bombay, said the impact of the IoE programme is reflected in the institute's rise in QS World Rankings—from 172 in 2021 to 118 in 2025. 'While it is important to acknowledge the impact of IoE scheme in pursuit of bringing the institutions like IIT Bombay on par with globally acclaimed technical research institutions, it is still early days to assess the outcome considering the wide array of focus areas identified for implementation of IoE scheme and also due to the fact that the official communication regarding closure of the programme is yet to be notified,' he said in an email response to ThePrint. In August of last year, IIT Madras Director V. Kamakoti told ThePrint that institutions in India face certain limitations, particularly when it comes to recruiting a large number of international faculty, where they lose scores in global rankings. Under the scheme, a budget of Rs 10,000 crore has been allocated to support 10 public institutions over a 5-year period. However, according to the parliamentary panel report, Rs 6,199 crore have been sanctioned for 8 public IoEs as of December 31, 2024. According to data accessed by ThePrint, as of 30 September 2024, IIT Delhi had received Rs 736.31 crore, IIT Bombay Rs 770.59 crore, IIT Madras Rs 964.00 crore, IIT Kharagpur Rs 671.05 crore, IISc Bengaluru Rs 842 crore, Banaras Hindu University Rs 644.13 crore, University of Hyderabad Rs 596.79 crore, and Delhi University Rs 445.00 crore under the Institutions of Eminence scheme. Boon for public institutes Officials at several IoEs have told ThePrint that they managed to do various developmental work using the funding they received under the scheme. At IIT-Delhi, officials stated that the funding associated with the IoE scheme has been highly beneficial for the institute. 'Beyond infrastructure projects, we've effectively used the funds to support postdoctoral fellowships, initiate new research programmes, and attract international students. A major area of impact has been collaborative international research through seed funding—what we refer to as Multi-institute Faculty Interdisciplinary Research Projects (MFIRP)—where we jointly invest with international institutions to launch collaborative projects. These initial efforts often grow into large-scale collaborations, giving the funding a strong multiplier effect,' a senior IIT-Delhi official told ThePrint. Officials at the University of Hyderabad, too, said that IoE funding has significantly boosted infrastructure, research capacity, and global engagement. 'Key developments include new buildings such as an Interdisciplinary Research Centre, hostels, and admin blocks, along with Rs 60 crore worth of advanced research equipment. Besides, the university also supported 75 post-doctoral fellows, hosted over 100 national and international conferences, and launched industry-linked research and e-learning initiatives, among other works,' Professor M. Ghanashyam Krishna, Director, IoE project at the University, told ThePrint. However, officials at private universities, emphasised that they continue to grapple with lengthy administrative processes and are still required to comply with all regulations, with little improvement over time. 'Private institutions like ours use it mainly for branding or promotional purposes. While government institutions at least receive funding, for private institutions, it hasn't brought any tangible benefits,' said a senior official from one of the private IoEs, speaking on condition of anonymity. Meanwhile, the house panel in its March report also recommended that the autonomy envisioned for IoEs needs to be extended to constituent colleges of the IoEs. The report noted that rather than being granted autonomy, constituent colleges of IoEs, like DU, have been caught up in protracted issues with the university management over basic functions, such as recruitment and promotion of faculty. (Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri) Also read: India's education spending falls behind other SAARC nations' like Bhutan & Maldives, notes House panel
The Guardian
31-01-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Mary Scott obituary
My friend and former work colleague Mary Scott, who has died aged 84, was an expert in the field of academic literacies, the study of the skills, knowledge and understanding needed to participate in academic study. As she revealed in her writing, Mary was dedicated in particular to helping international students succeed while working with a language and an academic culture that is different from their own. To this end, she established an orientation course (on which I taught) at the Institute of Education (IoE) in London, designed to prepare such students for their postgraduate and doctoral studies. Mary was also founding director in 1992 of the Centre for Academic Professional Literacies at the IoE. From that position she set up the highly regarded Saturday morning Inter-University Academic Literacies Research Group, an open forum for teachers and researchers from across the UK as well as the US, South Africa and beyond. She ran and chaired this for 15 years, and it became a spearhead for the development of the study of academic literacies. Mary was born to Thelma (nee Nixon) and Wilfred Scott in King William's Town (now Qonce) in South Africa, where she went to the local Kingsridge high school for girls. Her academic career began in the early 1960s at Rhodes University in Grahamstown (now Makhanda), where she gained a degree in English literature and Latin, followed by an MA. She secured her teaching qualification at Cape Town University and taught English literature in South Africa during the late 60s and early 70s, before moving to the UK to follow a course at the IoE, a programme that changed her thinking and laid the ground for her subsequent work. She stayed in the UK, maintaining her association with the IoE by contributing to its teacher training programme until, around 1990, she taught, then led, the IoE's English for academic purposes course. Over the years Mary had a number of papers published, edited various books and was invited to speak at many conferences across the world. In 2013 she completed a PhD at Tilburg University in the Netherlands with a dissertation titled A Chronicle of Learning that was based on her lifetime's work. Mary's popular lunches with colleagues in the Lawton Room – the IoE's staff dining facility – continued until her retirement in 2015, and were marvellous occasions, filled with learning and good humour. She is survived by her brother, Donald.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Mary Scott obituary
My friend and former work colleague Mary Scott, who has died aged 84, was an expert in the field of academic literacies, the study of the skills, knowledge and understanding needed to participate in academic study. As she revealed in her writing, Mary was dedicated in particular to helping international students succeed while working with a language and an academic culture that is different from their own. To this end, she established an orientation course (on which I taught) at the Institute of Education (IoE) in London, designed to prepare such students for their postgraduate and doctoral studies. Mary was also founding director in 1992 of the Centre for Academic Professional Literacies at the IoE. From that position she set up the highly regarded Saturday morning Inter-University Academic Literacies Research Group, an open forum for teachers and researchers from across the UK as well as the US, South Africa and beyond. She ran and chaired this for 15 years, and it became a spearhead for the development of the study of academic literacies. Mary was born to Thelma (nee Nixon) and Wilfred Scott in King William's Town (now Qonce) in South Africa, where she went to the local Kingsridge high school for girls. Her academic career began in the early 1960s at Rhodes University in Grahamstown (now Makhanda), where she gained a degree in English literature and Latin, followed by an MA. She secured her teaching qualification at Cape Town University and taught English literature in South Africa during the late 60s and early 70s, before moving to the UK to follow a course at the IoE, a programme that changed her thinking and laid the ground for her subsequent work. She stayed in the UK, maintaining her association with the IoE by contributing to its teacher training programme until, around 1990, she taught, then led, the IoE's English for academic purposes course. Over the years Mary had a number of papers published, edited various books and was invited to speak at many conferences across the world. In 2013 she completed a PhD at Tilburg University in the Netherlands with a dissertation titled A Chronicle of Learning that was based on her lifetime's work. Mary's popular lunches with colleagues in the Lawton Room – the IoE's staff dining facility – continued until her retirement in 2015, and were marvellous occasions, filled with learning and good humour. She is survived by her brother, Donald.
