University of Ibadan ranked among world’s 1,000 best universities

• First Nigerian university on the ranking

A global ranking of universities released by the Times Higher Education has placed the University of Ibadan Oyo State at number 801 among the best 978 in the world.

The 2016-2017 ranking just released shows that the university was the only one in Nigeria that made the list. By the ranking University of Ibadan is now among the best 1000 in the world.

Prior to this, no Nigerian university made the list of the best 1000 and the argument usually canvassed for their exclusion majorly was that the tertiary institutions in the country were lacking in quality research.

The University of Oxford topped the ranking in the 12-year history of the table.

According to ranking organisation, “this year’s ranking, which includes institutions from 79 countries, represents an elite 5 per cent of the world’s higher education institutions.

“This year’s list of the best universities in the world is led by a UK university for the first time in the 12-year history of the table; the University of Oxford is the world’s number one university, knocking five-time champion the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) into second place.

“It is the first time a US institution does not take the top spot. However, the North American powerhouse still dominates the list with 148 universities in the top 980 and 63 in the top 200. The rest of the top five is filled by Stanford University in third, the University of Cambridge in fourth and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in fifth. “Oxford’s success can be attributed to improved performances across the four main indicators underlying the methodology of the ranking- teaching, research, citations and international outlook.

The report equally shows that two new Asian universities make the top 100 and these are Chinese University of Hong Kong and Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).

The City University of Hong Kong, University of Science and Technology of China, Fudan University and Hong Kong Polytechnic University also joined the first 200. “More specifically the institution’s total income and research income is rising faster than its staff numbers, its research is more influential, and it has been more successful in attracting international talent”

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2016-2017 list the 980 top universities in the world, making it its biggest international league table to date. It is the only global university performance table to judge world class universities across all of their core missions – teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.

“The top universities rankings use 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators to provide the most comprehensive and balanced comparisons available, which are trusted by students, academics, university leaders, industry and governments. The calculation of the rankings for 2016-2017 has been subject to independent audit by professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

The University of Ibadan (UI) was founded in 1932 as the first university to be established in Nigeria. Originally an affiliated College of the University of London, it was granted full independent status in 1962.

What began life as a small institution with just three departments in Science, Medicine and the Arts, quickly expanded to become one of the country’s most prestigious higher education institutions. Today UI comprises thirteen faculties, including Social Sciences, Agriculture and Forestry, Education, Veterinary Medicine, Technology, Law, Public Health and Dentistry.

UI’s Postgraduate School is the largest in Africa, with its undergraduate and postgraduate student population split 50/50. Around a third of all students live in university provided halls of residence – modern facilities that come equipped with gyms, cafes and common rooms.

The university’s ethos is founded on making education available to all, with a well established Distance Learning Centre where the same courses undertaken by full-time students are open to those whose access to education is restricted by finances or family obligations.

UI also runs a number of public facilities, including a media resource centre that offers educational workshops, reading services and consultancies for schools and children’s libraries.

The university also lays claim to its own zoological and botanical gardens, which house endangered animals and plants, and run conservation programmes dedicated to supporting environmental needs.

Its future infrastructure development plans include a new business school and an Institute for Infectious Diseases.

Among the university’s alumni  are many notable individuals who have contributed significantly to the political, industrial, economic and cultural development of Nigeria, including the writer Wole Soyinka, awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986, and Chinua Achebe whose novel Things Fall Apart is the most widely read book in contemporary African literature.

1              University of Oxford, United Kingdom

2              California Institute of Technology, United States

3              Stanford University, United States

4              University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

5              Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States

6              Harvard University United States

7              Princeton University United States

8              Imperial College London United Kingdom

9              ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ZurichSwitzerland

10           University of California, Berkeley United States

10           University of Chicago United States