Exceptional Results of the University of Nova Gorica at the Global U- Multirank 2017 University Rankings

Date of publication: 30. 3. 2017
News

The University of Nova Gorica (UNG) has been a part of the global university ranking program called »U-Multirank« since the very beginning of this European project. This year’s results of the comparative rankings of different universities from all over the world (»U-Multirank 2017«), published on the website www.umultirank.org, show that UNG’s results are high above average, within the global university chart. (Same exceptional results were obtained by UNG also in the last two years U-Multirank 2015 and U-Multirank 2016 comparisons of universities.)

The graphic illustration of UNG’s profile on the U-Multirank 2016 global ranking chart. The height of each column within a specific circular sector denotes a grade achieved for a specific criterion (the tallest column stands for 1 – exceptionally good, and the lowest column stands for 5 –weak).
The graphic illustration of UNG’s profile on the U-Multirank 2016 global ranking chart. The height of each column within a specific circular sector denotes a grade achieved for a specific criterion (the tallest column stands for 1 – exceptionally good, and the lowest column stands for 5 –weak).

In particular, the results show excellence of UNG performance in the field of research, international orientation, and regional engagement. Good results were also ascribed to the areas of teaching and learning. If comparing U-Multirank results of UNG with the results of other universities in Slovenian and wider region outside Slovenian borders, it shows that the University of Nova Gorica is the best university according to a majority of ranking parameters. It not only ranks higher than other Slovenian universities, but also higher than bigger universities in our vicinity, such as the Graz University the University of Trieste, Padova University, and the University of Zagreb. According to research indicators and international orientation UNG ranks among best European and world universities.

It is worth mentioning that scientific excellence of UNG was recognized and outlined also in the European Commission report on scientific performance of
European universities »Scientific Output and Collaboration of European Universities«, in the period 2007 – 2011, which stated: »Four institutions stand out for their strong performances in terms of scientific impact, as they are always among the top five according to the three citation-based impact measures: the University of Nova Gorica, the University of Oxford, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and ETH Zurich.«

The graphic illustration of UNG’s profile on the U-Multirank 2017 global ranking chart. The height of each column within a specific circular sector denotes a grade achieved for a specific criterion (the tallest column stands for 1 – exceptionally good, and the lowest column stands for 5 –weak)

»U-Multirank« is a comparative university chart that was developed within the EU with the financial help that came from the European Commission. It is intended for comparative grading of universities from all over the world. This year 1500 universities from 99 countries were included into the grading project.

U-Multirank is the first global chart that gives a multidimensional picture of the way universities operate, as it compares universities in five different areas: teaching and learning, research, international orientation, regional engagement and knowledge transfer. If compared to other ranking charts that are geared towards classifying universities in charts like “best 100 universities” (based on a communal grade that is composed of parameters with different levels of importance), U-Multirank gives a complete picture of each university’s virtues and disadvantages.

U-Multirank allows users to compare universities based on what matters to them. It reveals different strong performers in areas as diverse as research, teaching and learning, knowledge transfer, internationalisation and regional engagement. This approach and method give students the right sort and amount of information so they can pick the university that is appropriate for them more easily. Students wanting to identify the best performers in different disciplines can consult rankings across 16 subject areas, four times as many as in its first year. This gives students an ability to make informed choices of the best universities for their interest. Students are also able to identify universities that do well in terms of international linkages and student mobility.

European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Tibor Navracsics, said:
“U-Multirank gives students, parents and other stakeholders a valuable insight into the higher education institutions of their choice, across a range of parameters. This is vital to help drive informed decisions.”

In order to create an efficient display that compares universities, the U-Multirank project offers to the students an online application that can be found on the following website www.umultirank.org. By using this application, anyone can directly pick various universities in the select region or wider (on a global scale) and compare them in the areas of their interest.

U-Multirank uses 39 different indicators by means of which universities are graded and compared in various areas and activity fields. U-Multirank uses a five-degree chart: 1 – exceptionally good; 2 – good; 3 – average; 4 – below average; 5 –weak. Detailed results that pertain to UNG (based on individual indicators) can be found on U-Multirank’s website: www.umultirank.org.

Despite its youth (this year, UNG celebrates its 22th year of existence) and relative smallness, the University of Nova Gorica displays a visible degree of excellence on the global scale. The top results that it has achieved are not coincidental, but a result of hard work and a clear vision the university has set for itself and was approved by the University’s Senate.

Contact

Andreja Leban
Public Relations
T: +386 5 3315 397
E: andreja.leban@ung.si