The annual QS World University Rankings lowered the UK’s elite Oxford (Part 1) and Cambridge to fourth and sixth places respectively.
Halbergman | iStock | Getty Images
The top UK universities fell into global rankings last week, with experts raising a red flag about the region’s continued attracting international talent and cultivating innovative capabilities.
Once a year QS World University Rankings The elites of the UK Oxford University and Cambridge University lowered one position to fourth and sixth respectively. At the same time, 54 out of 90 British universities rank. These included many leading players, including the University of Edinburgh, which lowered seven positions to 34th, and the London School of Economics and Politics, and six positions to 56th.
QS World University Rankings measure the performance of over 1,500 universities across over 100 locations worldwide through indicators such as research and discovery, learning experience, employability, global participation and sustainability.
But, Sankar Sivarajah, dean of Kingston Business School, told CNBC did it Despite the title numbers, some progress has been made: 17 of the 90 British universities are among the top 100 in the world, as well as positions at Imperial College London, Oxford, Cambridge University and University of London University London University.
“Strengthen global competition”
However, “the industry faces great challenges of strengthening global competition, reducing research funding, and improving metrics such as teacher ratio and internationalization,” Sivarajah said.
He explained that institutions in China, Singapore and Australia “have made continuous investments in research, international partnerships and faculty recruitment” while the UK lags behind those areas.
“The UK must prioritize ongoing investment in research and development, focus on research outcomes and employer reputations, and strengthen strategic global participation to remain competitive,” he said.
Edward Knight, president of Antler, Venture Capital, added that the rankings continue Proposed 6% tax Foreign students studying at UK universities may make the area a less attractive study destination.
“What I’m hearing at the same time…is that more and more, in places like China and India, the narrative is shifting to ‘Hey, kids don’t go abroad to study anymore. You can stay at home.’ So for foreign students, the combination that adds taxes to make it more expensive is obviously useless,” Knight said.
“If you tax people at the same time because you’re increasingly hesitant to go abroad anyway, anyway, then this is obviously not a particularly healthy set of drivers for the overall health of the ecosystem,” Knight added.
“Europe is far behind the rest of the world”
UK universities are also a wake-up call for technology and startups in the region, which has been seen as Lag Behind the United States and China.
“It’s all good to say that Britain is the leader in innovation in Europe, but I think if the reference set is actually more extensive than that, you’ll get a more rounded, more balanced perspective,” Knight said.
He pointed out that artificial intelligence will be included in China’s national curriculum from primary schools. The US has the Stargate project, an initiative that will invest $500 billion in the next four years to build an AI infrastructure; Abu Dhabi has set up an AI technology investment company MGX.
“I think you might conclude that in the piles of Europe, everything is fine, but Europe lags far behind the rest of the world,” Knight added.
Knight noted that the University of Cambridge has produced the best tech companies in the region, including Deepmind and Darktrace, but the UK has dropped those companies to the United States. Darktrace was acquired by a private equity firm in the United States, and DeepMind was sold to Google.
“For some reason, these companies believe they live in the U.S. better, and because of the growth multiple, the U.S. market is investing in a higher valuation than the U.K.,” Knight said.
He added: “Thor may be a $50 billion company. Will they be open in the U.S. or are they going to stay here? Spotify is from Stockholm, but it is listed in Nasdaq stock. If you want to host these businesses and companies, you need to be able to provide a new, more support environment.”
