“It’s very gratifying that we have retained our position, despite tougher global competition. A university is never better than its staff and students. This is therefore an acknowledgement of the skilled work everyone performs to create a top-class university and confirms that we are heading in the right direction,” says Vice-Chancellor Erik Renström.
Rankings are important in efforts to improve understanding of the overall complexity of what a university does and how universities together play a positive role in societal development.
The THE ranking is based on 13 indicators across five areas. One factor that weighs heavily is the evaluation surveys sent to teaching staff and researchers from other higher education institutions. Another important factor is citations.
Lund University is ranked as number 2 in Sweden of the 13 ranked institutions, after Karolinska Institute.
“It’s also pleasing to note that we received 99.9 points out of 100 in the patents category, which is truly world-leading – very gratifying as we put a lot of emphasis on being as beneficial as possible for society as a whole,” says Erik Renström.
In total, there are over 20,000 higher education institutions around the world and of these, THE ranks nearly 2,200 from 108 different countries.
In recent years, Lund University has improved its ranking in all the major international rankings. Lund University is rated in the top 100 in the THE and QS rankings (72). In 2024, Lund University achieved a significant improvement in the ARWU ranking, also known as the Shanghai ranking (101-150). Also worth mentioning is Lund University’s ranking as 3 in the world in the QS WUR: Sustainability ranking.
Rankings are used to attract international students and new employees. Ranking positions have a direct effect on the University’s attractiveness. In practice, a placement outside the top 100 means that countries which sponsor their best students with scholarships no longer regard Lund as an option, and that successful universities around the world start looking for partnerships and collaborations with other universities.
At the same time, competition from the rest of the world is increasing, with many universities performing better and better. Ranking organisations identify several factors that they measure, but these sometimes change. How this affects their algorithms is a trade secret, at least in the case of THE and QS.
In recent years, the University has carried out a number of initiatives to learn more about how Lund University as a higher education institution can use rankings as one of several tools for analysing the organisation and identifying strengths and weaknesses in international comparisons. Further efforts are needed to maintain and develop these positions.
In spring 2024, a proposal was put forward for a coherent overall quality system. In the future, key metrics and quality indicators will be an integral part of the work to ensure quality and the development of education and research. International and national comparisons are central elements of a quality system and are to be utilised to gain insights into how the organisation should develop.
Read more: Learn more about the THE rankings.