20th March 2014 9:00
By Blue Tutors
This year’s world university reputation table has been released and shows that US universities dominate the international academic field. American universities took 8 of the top 10 positions in the league table, with Cambridge and Oxford taking the other two top ten spots. The table is based on votes from academics around the world nominating the top institutions in their field. The results have caused concern amongst UK universities as the position of UK universities on the list has dropped considerable from last year.
Cambridge and Oxford Universities took fourth and fifth place respectively, with several of the London colleges, Edinburgh and Manchester featuring lower down the list. Meanwhile US super brands Harvard and MIT took the top spots. Responding to the publication of the table, Universities UK released a statement to say that while the list showed that the UK was a strong global competitor, the failure of UK universities to maintain their positions on the list was a cause for concern. Although university rankings are subjective, the table indicates that the UK will struggle to maintain its positions while it is not investing in higher education on a level to compete with American counterparts.
International reputation is a vital element in attracting international talent as well as investment, and maintaining reputation is crucial. The department for Innovation, Business and Skills has said that the UK has some of the world’s best known and respected university brands, and pledged to do more to protect them on the international stage. They promised to protect the research budget, and to investigate ways of improving accessibility to education in the UK.