Riga Technical University is among the world’s best academic institutions, according to yet another highly regarded ranking. The 2024 Times Higher Education World University Rankings (WUR), released Wednesday (Sept. 27), placed RTU in the 1001-1200 band.
RTU moved up from the 1201-1500 band in 2023 to the 1001-1200 band in the 2024 edition of the rankings—making it the only Latvian university to increase its rankings in the past year. In domestic rankings, RTU tied with the University of Latvia, (who also secured a 1001-1200 placement) to share the standing as one of the top universities in Latvia.
Among the other Baltic States, the University of Tartu notched the highest performance (301-350th place), while the Tallinn University of Technology was rated 601-800, and Tallinn University was placed in the 1001-1200 band. The Lithuanian University of Health Sciences and the University of Vilnius shared the podium for top university in Lithuania, with an identical 801-1000 ranking. Kaunas University of Technology, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, and Vytautas Great University rounded out the Baltic universities that made the list, with each situated in the 1201-1500 band.
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024 include 1,904 universities across 108 countries and regions. In addition to the 1,904 ranked institutions, An additional 769 universities were listed with «reporter» status, meaning that they provided data but did not meet current eligibility criteria to receive a rank, and agreed to be displayed as a reporter in the final table.
Times Higher Education made significant changes to the World University Ranking methodology for its 2024 rankings, including the addition of five new performance indicators in research, industry, and international outlook to provide more comprehensive and balanced comparisons.
Strongest performance in international outlook, research environment
The university’s contribution to international cooperation was evaluated by the proportion of the number of foreign students and teaching staff, as well as by international cooperation in research by the citation rate of scientific publications.
Internationalization is one of the most important strategic goals of RTU, and the increase in the number of foreign students is the result of purposeful activity. For the international outlook category, RTU ranks 642 among the 1904 universities included in the ranking.
RTU received its the second-highest rating in the research environment category, ranking 656th. This tier evaluated the university’s research productivity, reputation, and research income.
Industry Cooperation was RTU’s third ranking (874th)—this category assessed how much income the university has received from the transfer of knowledge, what contribution it has made to the development of companies through innovation, inventions, and expert work, as well as its ability to attract funding from the commercial sector.
«RTU's traditionally strongest positions are cooperation with industry and the internationalization of studies, which is a good starting point for starting the progress towards increasing the university's place in international rankings,» stated RTU Rector Tālis Juhna.
«It is not easy, because global competition also requires large investments, but we are gradually but consistently moving towards our goal, and this is confirmed by two important international rankings published recently, where RTU has achieved the best results in Latvia, taking the lead in strengthening the country's position in the international competition in higher education and science.»
More About the World University Rankings
WUR’s latest rankings are consistent with a bevy of other accolades RTU has collected in recent months, which reflect a range of ranking emphases and methodologies:
RTU was named as one of the top universities in Europe in first ever edition of the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the only significant regional ranking of European universities. The results saw RTU place 262nd in Europe and first amongst the seven included Latvian universities—placing RTU as one of the top 300 universities in Europe.
Riga Technical University was positioned #751-760 in the 2024 edition of the QS World University Rankings—and received “5 QS Stars” in seven total categories: Overall, Teaching, Employability, Internationalization, Facilities, Innovation, and Inclusiveness. Riga Technical University was ranked the highest of the three Latvian universities that made the list. RTU has been the leading university in Latvia in the QS World University Rankings for several years.
RTU has been recognized as the best not only in Latvia—but in the Baltics states in the international QS World University Rankings: Sustainability: 2023. RTU ranked the 451st-500th overall in the world, receiving its best results in the ratings portion that assesses a university’s impact on the environment, ranking 421st in this position. The QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2023 is the first ranking of its kind and was developed to assess how universities act to solve global issues—environmental, social and, governance problems.
