January 14, 2016

UOW listed in world’s top 200 ‘most international’ universities

The University of Wollongong’s standing on the world stage has taken a major boost with news it is among the top 100 most international universities, according to the United Kingdom’s Times Higher Education (THE).

UOW came in at 71 out of a full list of 200, indicating its success in attracting students and scholars from all over the world, fostering partnerships and collaborations with leading institutions as well as efforts to develop offshore education since the opening of its Dubai campus in 1993.

The University also delivers tertiary education in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. Last year it assumed stewardship and governance of the Community College of City University (CCCU), strengthening its position as a global higher education provider in North-East Asia.

Editor of the THE Rankings, Phil Baty, said the inclusion of Wollongong in the list of the top 200 most international universities was a significant achievement. 

The THE used the ‘international outlook’ indicator of the World University Rankings to create the list with all institutions in the top 800 of the rankings considered.

UOW Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paul Wellings CBE, who was appointed in 2014 to an expert board to advise the New South Wales State Government on the continued development of the state’s international education sector, believes the listing confirms the University’s reputation for world-class research and exceptional teaching quality.

“This latest finding will greatly assist UOW in continuing to attract the highest calibre of staff and students.”

Mr Baty said the diversity of a university’s student body and the extent to which its academics collaborate with international colleagues were signs of how global it was as an institution.

He said these factors were among the 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators that allowed THE to produce the most comprehensive global university rankings in the world.

“It is great news for all the institutions in the list of the most international universities in the world. It is a sign of great potential, competitiveness and dynamism,” Mr Baty said.

Wollongong’s global outreach gained momentum last year when it accepted an invitation to join the University Global Partnership Network (UGPN) as the Australasian member.

The UGPN was formed in 2011 and sets out to create opportunities for international collaboration enabling academics and students to work together on issues of global importance.

The membership will result in a heightened number of exchange staff and students coming to Wollongong from participating universities.

For the full list of the most international universities see: timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/worlds-most-international-universities-2016.