JUST ranked one of 150 best young universities in world

AMMAN — The Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) on Wednesday was selected among the 101-150 best universities in the world in the Times Higher Education (THE) Young University Ranking of 2018.

The ranking, which lists the world’s best universities which are less than 50 years old, uses the same methodology as the Times World University Ranking. 

“This achievement would not have been accomplished without the commitment and cumulative efforts of all JUST staff and affiliates over the past years,”  JUST President Saeb Khreisat told The Jordan Times, highlighting that the university has advanced a total of 50 positions in the ranking since last year’s edition. 

“We are looking forward to achieving more progress and we have plans in place to do so,” Khreisat added, taking on the opportunity to call on all students and staff on campus to “work harder to make more progress in the future and to keep our prestigious position”.

“One of JUST’s major recent key success indicators is the establishment of the Nanotechnology Institute, which will serve as the nucleus for a national centre for research and development in the diverse fields of nanoscience and technology,” THE commented on the university’s profile in the ranking. 

The rating also highlighted the establishment of the Regional Institute of Infectious diseases and Antimicrobial Resistance in collaboration with Purdue University (USA), pointing out that the centre makes “far-reaching changes in alleviating national, regional and global threats of infectious diseases, providing rapid and effective regional responses, and strengthening Jordan’s health capacities”.

The university’s international outlook was also a factor worth highlighting, with 20 per cent of students enrolled at JUST being international students from a total of 48 countries. 

As for the global picture, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology was crowned as the world’s best young university in the new ranking, while two newcomers made it to the top ten this year including Paris Sciences & Lettres seizing the fourth place, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham standing at the tenth spot. 

The Young University Ranking was released in conjunction with The Times’ Golden Age University Ranking of 2018, where the University of Jordan (UJ) ranked in the 151st position worldwide among all universities established during the Golden Age of higher education, which took place between 1951 and 1967.

In a statement sent to The Jordan Times, UJ President Azmi Mahafzah said that “the progress achieved by the university today proves its universality”, stressing that the ranking is “one of the most privileged in the world”. 

“It is claimed that the highest number of researchers per million in the Arab world are located in Jordan,” THE said on its official website, pointing out that “among UJ’s 1,000-strong faculty are writers, analysts and literary critics, many of whom have taught at other universities in neighbouring Arab countries and around the world”.

“The university prides itself on having a global focus,” UJ’s profile on the ranking said, highlighting that the institution is a member of the International Association of Universities, the Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World,  the Mediterranean Universities Union and the Association of Arab Universities.

Globally, the UK showed the strongest performance in the Golden Age University Ranking with a total of 23 universities included in the list, while 14 American universities made it to the ranking overall.