DUBAI // Two UAE universities have made it onto a list of the top 20 most international universities.
The federal UAE University in Al Ain and private American University of Sharjah achieved 15th and 12th places, respectively, in a new ranking by Times Higher Education.
The rankings examined the proportion of international students, proportion of international faculty and proportion of research published with at least one international co-author, each given equal weighting.
Phil Baty, editor of Times Higher Education, said that with naturally small indigenous populations, it could be argued that Qatar, which took first place, and the UAE, would have what he calls a “natural advantage” towards internationalisation.
“There are, of course, certain demographic factors which will make it easier for universities to recruit staff and students across national borders, so universities in the region do get a natural advantage ... but the research element is a different matter; only a university in the region which is committed to investing in research, and which has a productive workforce publishing research in international journals [will do well on the list],” he said.
Maryam Khan, an advisor on the UAE University rankings team, said the placement reflected the university’s goal to be research intensive. “We want to bring the big brains of the world to come here so being on the international rankings is important for this,” she said. “It applies to us for students and faculty.”
Though the federal university was set up for Emiratis, it does have increasing numbers of foreign students.
“Our mission is to educate nationals so this indicator of internationalisation is therefore unfair for universities like us as our goal isn’t to have too many international students. We are looking to get the best of the local students, too, so this kind of ranking works against us,” Ms Khan added.
Despite this, the university remains the best in the country for Emiratisation of its academics. About 159 of the 630 faculty members are Emirati.
Kevin Mitchell, acting provost at AUS, said: “Even if there were no rankings that considered internationalisation as a criterion, institutions would likely still seek to attract an international student body and faculty as there is an increasing need to establish connections across the world to enhance knowledge and facilitate research.”
mswan@thenational.ae
