This is the first ever university ranking dedicated to the EECA region. ‘’Universities in the EECA region are beginning to add depth to the landscape of global higher education. They are no longer just competing nationally; they are reaching out to the world, driving innovation and marketing their unique strengths like never before. Inevitably, they are becoming increasingly attractive to students and QS is pleased to announce the first ranking dedicated to this region - to providing these universities with a platform to shine and to regionally mobile students a way to compare universities.”- said Ben Sowter, head of research at QS. Sowter adds: “In the course of compiling this pilot top 100 we have reached out to 368 universities, 255 of which have never before been featured in our rankings, 18 of these have made the top 100. As the project evolved we expect to engage with still more ambitious institutions in this dynamic region.’’

GALLERY - photo: Ilona Újszászi

The EECA region considered for this new ranking consists of the following 30 countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan. The QS Emerging Europe and Central Asia list ranks universities on the nine basic criteria. Among other things: academic reputation, employer reputation, international faculty and students, and the number of citation prevalence of publications.

This pilot edition of the QS University Rankings: Emerging Europe and Central Asia sees Russia’s Lomonosov Moscow State University take the top spot, followed by the Czech Republic’s Charles University, which shares second place with another Russian representative, Novosibirsk State University. Overall, Russian universities claim the largest share of the region’s top 100 universities, with 26 entries. The Czech Republic and Turkey have 10 apiece, Poland nine, Kazakhstan eight, and Hungary and Ukraine six each.

It is an excellent result that the University of Szeged is ranked on the 22^nd place. Hungary has one university in the Top 20, three in the Top 30, one in the Top 50 and one in the Top 100. On this list, Eötvös Loránd University is ranked 15^th , University of Szeged 22^nd, Budapest University of Technology and Economics 24^th, University of Debrecen 25^th, Corvinus University of Budapest 42^nd, University of Pécs 51-60^th.