68th in the world, Auckland leads excellence across the university sector

Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland’s rise to 68 in the world in the latest Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings is an enormous success for the University and a clear indicator of the excellence and global reputation of the university sector in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The University has moved to 68th place from 87th last year, a significant jump at a time of increased competition internationally in higher education. It is the highest global rank the University has held since 2010.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Dawn Freshwater says the new ranking is a testament to the high quality of teaching, learning and research across the University of Auckland, and a timely reminder that NZ universities are among the best in the world.

“We are pleased with the result for the University of Auckland. It reflects the efforts of our staff after the pandemic years. It is also rewarding to see that all eight universities in Aotearoa New Zealand have improved their global ranking. I think we can pause for a moment to celebrate the fact that universities in this country remain truly world-class.

“This positive news also provides balance to the financial challenges New Zealand universities are facing. Those challenges are serious and will need to be addressed to ensure the future viability of the sector, which is why we welcome this week’s announcement by the government of additional funding to support NZ universities and a review of the higher education funding model.

“Success in the world rankings is important not only for the quality of the education and research provided here but for the country’s international reputation. It reflects on the quality and capability of our workforce, the global standing of our research and ultimately our organisations and companies.”

This is the 20th edition of QS World University Rankings and comes at a time when priorities in higher education are evolving, says QS CEO Jessica Turner.

“We have seen the focus of different stakeholders shift in response to wider trends in education and society, and to reflect this collective intelligence we have incorporated three new indicators into the QS World University Ranking.

“These are Sustainability, a touchpoint for global institutions as they come to realise their impact on the world, Employability, and International Research Networks - the latter providing insight on how internationally connected an institution’s research is, as well as recognising the importance of collaborative research.”

Vice-Chancellor Freshwater said that these three areas have also been a key focus for the University of Auckland, attested by the University’s ranking of 12th globally in the Times Higher University Impact Rankings, which evaluate how universities are delivering on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The QS World University Rankings provide an authoritative and comparative evaluation of the world’s top 1,500 universities. To put the rankings in context, out of a conservative estimate of 30,000+ universities in the world, nearly 3,000 were nominated for evaluation in the QS rankings. This puts the University of Auckland in the top five percent of the evaluated universities and the top 0.2 percent of all universities internationally.

QS Quacquarelli Symonds is the world’s leading provider of services, analytics, and insight to the global higher education sector. Its mission is to enable motivated people anywhere in the world to fulfil their potential through educational achievement, international mobility and career development. The QS World University Rankings portfolio, inaugurated in 2004, has grown to become the world’s most popular source of comparative data about university performance.