Israel's Weizmann Institute, Hebrew U, and Technion make global top 100 list
Israel's Weizmann Institute, Hebrew U, and Technion make global top 100 list
Israeli institutions excel in Shanghai ranking despite challenging year.
Israeli academia has maintained its position in the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) published by Shanghai Ranking, the world’s most important university ranking system. Three Israeli institutions— the Weizmann Institute of Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Technion—were ranked among the top 100 universities worldwide. The Weizmann Institute leads the Israeli institutions, holding 69th place (down from 68th last year).
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem rose from 86th to 81st place, while the Technion fell from 79th to 85th. Additionally, Technion was ranked 11th among technological universities globally.
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Hebrew University (left) and The Weizmann Institute
(Photos: The Weizmann Institute, Wikipedia)
The Shanghai Ranking, published annually since 2003, assesses the research quality of academic institutions worldwide based on various criteria, including the number of Nobel and Fields Prize winners among researchers and graduates, the number of scientific articles published in leading journals like Nature and Science, and other research performance indicators. The ranking evaluates over 2,500 universities, with the publication listing the top 1,000.
One factor contributing to the strong rankings of Israeli universities is the relatively high number of Israelis winning Nobel and Fields Prizes. Another reason is the universities’ recent increased efforts to improve their rankings by focusing on high-quality publications, among other strategies. Despite ongoing challenges, including government pressure and interference from Education Minister Yoav Kish, the rankings reflect longstanding academic excellence.
The rankings of other Israeli universities, which are outside the top 100, will be published later today. It is expected that three of these universities (likely Tel Aviv University, Ben-Gurion University, and Bar-Ilan University) will rank between 101st and 500th, with another (probably the University of Haifa) ranking below 501st.
The top five universities globally are Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Cambridge, and Berkeley. Among the top 100 institutions, 38 are from the USA, 14 from China, 8 from the UK, 5 from Australia, 4 from France, 4 from Germany, 3 from Canada, and 3 from Israel.
"The presence of three Israeli universities in the top 100 list is an extraordinary achievement in such a challenging and complex year," said Hebrew University President Prof. Asher Cohen.
"Our position in the Shanghai Ranking confirms the Technion's stature among the world's best technological universities," said Technion President Professor Uri Sivan. "The Technion, like other Israeli universities, competes globally with older, larger, and wealthier universities. We achieved a place in this current ranking that summarizes 2023 – one of the most challenging years we've ever faced. Three Israeli academic institutions are included in the list of the top 100 universities worldwide, which is a testament to the excellence of Israeli science and academia and a source of pride for us all."
