NWU continues to rise in international rankings

North-West University’s (NWU’s) recent excellence ranking confirms William A Foster’s saying that quality is always the result of intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skilful execution.

The institution’s quality in subject offerings has continued to elevate the university in global rankings, especially in the fields of atmospheric science, clinical medicine, education, hospitality and tourism management and public health.

NWU was also ranked first in the national/region ranking for mathematics.

According to the results of Shanghai Ranking Consultancy’s Global Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) – a global ranking system, NWU is among the top universities in the above areas of expertise.

It was ranked in the top 201 to 300 category of the ARWU’s 2020 subject rankings and is the only South African university that is in the top 500 for mathematics. “This reaffirms the NWU as an academic institution where excellence continuous to triumph and quality of the highest standard is celebrated.”

The ARWU assesses more than 1,800 universities from 90 countries and regions and the subjects are benchmarked against the best of the best.

Louis Jacobs, the NWU spokesperson says they are proud of the latest rankings, especially since the start of the year. He says it shows that their efforts and aim of striving for superior academic excellence is being achieved.

“It is a continuation of, and impressive improvement in, the NWU’s excellent performance in previous years in the ARWU rankings for this subject (mathematics).
“In 2019, the university was ranked in the 301 to 400 category (first in South Africa). In 2018 it was in the 401 to 500 category (in the top two along with the Beni-Suef University of Egypt as number 1),” Jacobs said.

As a university, NWU’s top priority is to provide students with quality qualifications that are relevant for the various industries.

According to Jacobs, one of the ways they ensure that the content of the several subjects meets the needs of the respective industries is to have continuous engagement with the different spheres. “We aim to deliver a quality graduate and a quality qualification.
We make sure that quality management is done continuously,” he said.

The following are some of NWU’s results in the Shanghai Ranking Consultancy’s global rankings of academic subjects for 2020:

•Atmospheric Science – ranked in the top 151–200 category
•Clinical Medicine – ranked in the top 151–200 category
•Public Health – ranked in the top 151–200 category
•Hospitality & Tourism Management – ranked in the top 151–200 category
•Education – ranked in the top 301–400 category
•Mathematics – ranked in the top 201–300 category.

Professor Dan Kgwadi, the vice-chancellor of the NWU, said the university celebrates its achievements in the rankings. “It contributes to the NWU’s dream of being an internationally- recognised university in Africa and the world, distinguished for engaged scholarship, social responsiveness and an ethic of care,” he said.

The university’s continued excellent performance demonstrates that efforts made by the institution to ensure that their students continue to receive quality education are taking them closer to their dream as an institution.