The North-West University (NWU) has once again made its mark in the latest rankings of the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR). The CWUR placed NWU at the top 4.7 per cent of universities in their 2021/2022 edition of the Global 2000 list. In terms of research performance, the CWUR ranked the NWU 924th in the world, ninth in Africa and seventh in South Africa. The latest CWUR ranking follows a top-100 placing and overall sixth place in South Africa in the Emerging Economies University Ranking of Times Higher Education in March this year.

The Times Higher Education Ranking placed the NWU in the overall 97th place out of 606 universities participating in their ranking. The CWUR publishes the largest academic rankings of global universities and uses seven objectives and robust indicators grouped into four areas to rank them. The four key pillars are the quality of education, alumni employment, quality of faculty and research performance. The CWUR publishes the largest academic rankings of global universities. It is a consulting organisation that provides policy advice, strategic insight and consulting services to governments and universities to improve educational and research outcomes. It also uses objective indicators for the four key pillars underlying the methodology of the ranking, with no reliance on surveys and data submissions.

The key pillars are the quality of education, alumni employment, quality of faculty and research performance. The quality of education, which is measured by the number of the university’s alumni who have won major academic distinctions relative to the university’s size (25%). Secondly, alumni employment is measured by the number of the university’s alumni who have held top executive positions at the world’s largest companies, relative to the university’s size (25%). Thirdly, the CWUR considers the quality of faculty, which is measured by the number of faculty members who have won major academic distinctions (10%). Lastly, the research performance, measured in four areas: research output (10%), high-quality publications (10%), influence in terms of the number of research articles in highly influential journals (10%) and citations (10%).

Prof. Dan Kgwadi, the vice-chancellor and principal of the NWU, says the university regularly excels in global rankings. “Although ranking is not a goal the NWU pursues, it is recognition for the excellent work all members of the NWU family are doing. The NWU’s spirit and resilience have again shown that with hard work and dedication, we can weather the storms in tumultuous times. Covid-19 has emphasised the importance of knowledge-sharing and international cooperation. This international recognition serves as an enabler for fostering partnerships and international collaboration,” he said. He added that the management of the NWU is extremely proud of all staff, students and other role players who play their part in making the NWU shine internationally.