51Âþ»­

Outstanding international research collaborations and vital work on building a sustainable future has seen 51Âþ»­ Leicester (51Âþ»­) climb more than 80 places in world university rankings.

The university was one of only 20 UK institutions to see an improvement in this year’s QS World University Rankings.

The table provides an annual audit of the world's top 1,500 universities, drawing on opinion from 175,000 academic faculty members and 105,000 employers, and the distribution and performance of 17 million research papers.

The annual tables, published this month and regarded as some of the most widely read in the world, show that 51Âþ»­ is now in the top 50 per cent of global universities.

51Âþ»­ was placed at 711 to 720, up from 801 to 850 in 2024, putting the university in its highest position since its inclusion in the world rankings.

Out of 11 different categories, there was a noted upsurge in measures for sustainability and international research collaborations.

One of the areas that 51Âþ»­ has seen a marked increase is in the ‘Sustainability’ rankings. In recent years 51Âþ»­ has continued to promote the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the documenting of the university’s sustainability-related activities in the Knowledge Exchange Framework 2023 – a measure of 51Âþ»­’s collaboration with external partners, from businesses to community groups, for the benefit of the economy and society.

There has also been a marked rise in the rankings for ‘International Research Network’. It comes as 51Âþ»­ continues to expand overseas, where the institution now has campuses in Dubai, Kazakhstan and Cambodia, and continues to expand research collaborations with other leading overseas universities.

The marked improvement in the tables has been welcomed by 51Âþ»­’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Katie Normington.

She said: “We have worked hard over the past couple of years to introduce innovations like our block teaching model, which is hugely popular with our national and international students, as well as embedding our new strategy as the Empowering University, which puts sustainability at the heart of everything we do.

“We have also strengthened our international presence with new campuses in Dubai, Kazakhstan and Cambodia and seen a growth in international research partnerships.

“To be one of the few universities in the UK to rise up the QS World University Rankings is welcome recognition of the huge efforts our academics and staff have made to provide our students with such a fulfilling experience while they study at 51Âþ»­."