U-Multirank, the global university ranking

This year’s results of the comparative rankings of different universities from all over the world (»U-Multirank 2021«), published on the website www.umultirank.org, that UNG’s results are high above average, within the global university chart. (Same exceptional results were obtained by UNG also in the last years U-Multirank 2015, U-Multirank 2016, U-Multirank 2017, U-Multirank 2018, U-Multirank 2019, U-Multirank 2019 and U-Multirank 2020 comparisons of universities.)

n particular, the results show excellence of UNG performance in the field of research and international orientation. For U-Multirank’s 2021 edition, UNG is among the Global Top 25 performers in the area of international joint publications, which reflects the degree to which a university’s research is connected to international research networks.

Good results were also ascribed to UNG in the areas of teaching and learning, and regional engagement. If comparing U-Multirank results of UNG with the results of other universities in Slovenian and wider region outside Slovenian borders, it shows that the University of Nova Gorica is the best university according to a majority of ranking parameters. It not only ranks higher than other Slovenian universities, but also higher than bigger universities in our vicinity, such as the Graz University the University of Trieste, Padova University, and the University of Zagreb. According to these indicators UNG ranks among best European and world universities.

It is worth mentioning that scientific excellence of UNG was recognized and outlined also in the European Commission report on scientific performance of European universities »Scientific Output and Collaboration of European Universities«, in the period 2007 – 2011, which stated: »Four institutions stand out for their strong performances in terms of scientific impact, as they are always among the top five according to the three citation-based impact measures: the University of Nova Gorica, the University of Oxford, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and ETH Zurich.«

The graphic illustration of UNG’s profile on the U-Multirank 2021 global ranking chart. The height of each column within a specific circular sector denotes a grade achieved for a specific criterion (the tallest column stands for 1 – exceptionally good, and the lowest column stands for 5 –weak).

In 2021 UNG has been ranked amongst the top performing universities around the globe! For U-Multirank’s 2020 edition, UNG is among the Global Top 25 performers in the area of international joint publications and was awarded a Global Top 25 badge for International joint publications and Global Top 25 badge for collaboration index. The percentage of international joint publications reflects the degree to which a university’s research is connected to international research networks. The list of the 25 top performers for International joint publications is characterised by a diversity of countries; higher education institutions from 19 different countries are represented. The list includes some higher education institutions from small countries (e.g., Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Slovenia and Iceland) which emphasize the importance of international research collaborations in order to achieve research excellence and international competitiveness.

»U-Multirank« is a comparative university chart that was developed within the EU with the financial help that came from the European Commission. It is intended for comparative grading of universities from all over the world. This year 1,800 universities from 92 countries were included into the grading project.

U-Multirank is the first global chart that gives a multidimensional picture of the way universities operate, as it compares universities in five different areas: teaching and learning, research, international orientation, regional engagement and knowledge transfer. If compared to other ranking charts that are geared towards classifying universities in charts like “best 100 universities” (based on a communal grade that is composed of parameters with different levels of importance), U-Multirank gives a complete picture of each university’s virtues and disadvantages.

U-Multirank is the first global chart that gives a multidimensional picture of the way universities operate, as it compares universities in five different areas: teaching and learning, research, international orientation, regional engagement and knowledge transfer. If compared to other ranking charts that are geared towards classifying universities in charts like “best 100 universities” (based on a communal grade that is composed of parameters with different levels of importance), U-Multirank gives a complete picture of each university’s virtues and disadvantages.

U-Multirank allows users to compare universities based on what matters to them. It reveals different strong performers in areas as diverse as research, teaching and learning, knowledge transfer, internationalisation and regional engagement. This approach and method give students the right sort and amount of information so they can pick the university that is appropriate for them more easily. This gives students an ability to make informed choices of the best universities for their interest. Students are also able to identify universities that do well in terms of international linkages and student mobility.

European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Tibor Navracsics, said: “U-Multirank gives students, parents and other stakeholders a valuable insight into the higher education institutions of their choice, across a range of parameters. This is vital to help drive informed decisions.”

In order to create an efficient display that compares universities, the U-Multirank project offers to the students an online application that can be found on the following website https://www.umultirank.org/. By using this application, anyone can directly pick various universities in the select region or wider (on a global scale) and compare them in the areas of their interest.

U-Multirank uses 39 different indicators by means of which universities are graded and compared in various areas and activity fields. U-Multirank uses a five-degree chart: 1 – exceptionally good; 2 – good; 3 – average; 4 – below average; 5 –weak. Detailed results that pertain to UNG (based on individual indicators) can be found on U-Multirank’s website: https://www.umultirank.org/.

Despite its youth and relative smallness, the University of Nova Gorica displays a visible degree of excellence on the global scale. The top results that it has achieved are not coincidental, but a result of hard work and a clear vision the university has set for itself and was approved by the University’s Senate.

Vision statement: he University of Nova Gorica aims to be a research, internationally established university, which will be recognised as a driving force of social development in the region and a wider context. With its innovative teaching approaches in both Slovene and English, the university aims to develop teaching excellence at its contemporary study programmes, thereby securing a high level of employability to home and international students. The university will endorse its motto Sciencia vinces („with knowledge to victory“) by providing a creative environment for researchers, professors and students, thereby enabling opportunities for top achievement results in the cutting-edge fields of science, technology and art.