Strong universities are essential to India's success: Phil Baty

Interview with Editor, Times Higher Education Rankings

No Indian higher education institute was featured in the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings 2014, the second consecutive year. Phil Baty, editor of Times Higher Education Rankings, says this is being seen as a concern in the global academic arena. In an interview with Vinay Umarji, Baty stresses the need for a few Indian institutes that can compete globally. Edited excerpts:

How have Indian higher education institutes fared this year compared to the last?

India is the only one of the so-called BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) nations-large, exciting and developing economic powers-that does not have a university in the global top-100 list. Mainland China has two (both in the top 50) and Russia and Brazil have one each. So, this should be a cause for concern for India. While officially, we only rank the world's top 100 institutions, I can reveal India is some way off the mark. Its most prestigious institution, based on the results of our expert global opinion poll, is the Indian Institute of Science. But it ranks about 200th and has fallen further since last year.

The Indian Institutes of Technology-Bombay, Delhi and Kanpur-are also at the top of Indian rankings. But these, too, fall below the 200th rank globally and are slipping.

For a country with as great an intellectual history and as huge economic potential as India, this will be seen as a concern. Strong universities that can compete on a world stage are essential to India's success.

However, it is encouraging that the 12th Plan is dedicated to raising quality in higher education. Perhaps the quality has suffered after years of dramatic expansion of higher education institutes. More concentrated research funding should help the top institutions thrive. Times Higher Education is delighted to be working with the Indian government to use our tough, international performance indicators to help India monitor progress and share best practices.

What parameters worked against Indian institutes?

This is a subjective, opinion-based ranking, which isolates the 'reputation' indicator used in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. So, we can only speculate as to what would have worked for or against Indian institutions and caused fewer academics to nominate these.

The survey is carried out by Ipsos MediaCT for Thomson Reuters, data supplier to the Times Higher Education rankings. The 2014 World Reputation Rankings are based on 10,536 responses from 133 countries during March-May 2013.

The survey is available in 10 languages and is distributed based on United Nations' data to ensure it accurately reflects the global distribution of scholars. Times Higher Education does not allow volunteers to take part in the survey and, importantly, accepts no nominations from institutions or any third party.

The poll asks academics to nominate no more than 15 of the best institutions in their narrow field of expertise, based on their experience and knowledge, making it a rigorous global measure of academic prestige.

How cooperative are Indian Institutes when it comes to sharing data?

This question is not relevant to this ranking, as no cooperation is needed. All data for the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings are collected independently of the universities, as we ask expert academics from across the globe to independently nominate the institutions they consider the best in their field. However, in general, we have seen a very dramatic increase in engagement and cooperation from Indian institutions as they recognise the value of benchmarking their progress through the trusted and rigorous standards established in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

In the past, Indian institutes have said education rankings do not impact them much. Have you seen this change, as many institutes have begun work on improving themselves in areas such as research?

Global university rankings have their limitations, but are very powerful and highly influential. The Times Higher Education World Reputation Ranking reveals the world's top 100 prestigious institutions, based on a worldwide survey of expert academic opinion. It denotes a university's global standing when it comes to academic reputation.

Research has shown reputation is central in attracting top academic talent and leading students, and it can also be highly influential in attracting new partnerships and investment. So, these rankings reveal something very important about global higher education; they really do matter.

Through the last few years, we have seen senior representatives of the Indian government come to fully accept global rankings are important. A country of India's great size, growing wealth and rich intellectual history needs to have at least some institutions that can compete on a global stage. This is one reason why we are seeing a new focus on investing in research in India---to allow the top universities to compete against the very best in the world.

Institutes from which region are be the biggest threat to the growth of Indian institutes? What steps should Indian institutes take to tackle this?

India's reforms and plans to invest in developing university research are very encouraging. But when it comes to countries of a similar size and economic power, there is strong competition. Of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) nations, Russia has one university just outside the world top 50, Brazil has an institution in the top 100, and China has two universities in the top 50. So, India lags its BRIC competitors. It is important for India not to be left behind, as strong and globally competitive universities could be the key to India's economic growth.

In which areas have Indian institutes fared better, and in which have they lagged?

This ranking is based on nothing more than subjective opinion, but it is the subjective opinion of experienced scholars from across the world and it is opinion that really matters. But because this is a prestige ranking, based on reputation, it does not provide detailed evidence of strengths and weaknesses in India's universities.

It simply tells us when it comes to global academic prestige, not enough scholars around the world are naming Indian institutions as being among the very best. While this list only names the world's top 100 - a tiny fraction of the world's higher education institutions, and a very specific US-dominated elite, it is a concern not enough scholars around the world consider India's institutions among the best. This could impede opportunities.

How do you see Indian institutes placed in the global rankings in the next five years?

There are some encouraging signs for the future. The human resources ministry has been promising to increase research funding and, crucially, is considering ways to target that funding more effectively, perhaps through a more competitive process to allow top institutions to gain more funding and thrive in their areas of strength. Also, there is cause for optimism in that the ministry has been discussing plans to work more closely with Times Higher Education to ensure universities in India are able to compare themselves with the best in the world, using our trusted standards and global benchmarks.