The performance of NKUA in global University rankings over recent years

In the last eight years, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens has significantly improved its position in international University rankings, which serve as an objective means of comparison worldwide. This success reflects the significant research and academic work done at the Institution, which has maintained a high level of quality despite the consequences of the multi-year economic crisis. The continuous rise in rankings, culminating in NKUA becoming the first Greek University to enter the top 200 globally in an overall table and the top 30 in a certain field, is based on our administration’s implementation of a specific and multi-level strategy, which has begun at the end of 2015 and is constantly evolving, developing, and adapting to global data.

Table 1 presents our University’s position in the most significant general global University rankings over time, while Table 2 depicts its position in specialized global University rankings referring to individual fields and subjects. The situation as a whole, even though for over ten years our University has been seriously understaffed and underfunded, highlights the considerable improvement of the Institution’s position in recent years in several global University rankings of different types and methodologies, but of high importance and international acceptance.

Table 1: The performance of NKUA in the overall tables of global University rankings (2015–2022)
	Ranking Organization	World Rank (2022)	World Rank (2015)
1.	AD Scientific Index World Top Universities Ranking	82	–
2.	Top Universities by Google Scholar Citations WEBOMETRICS	86	538
3.	Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities	186	217
4.	WEBOMETRICS	251	301
5.	US News – Best Global University Rankings	260	292
6.	Center for World University Ranking (CWUR)	275	301
7.	Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU)	301-400	301-400
8.	Times Higher Education (THE)	401-500	–

Table 2: The performance of NKUA in individual fields and subjects of global University rankings (2015–2022)
	Ranking Organization	World Rank (2022)	World Rank (2015)
1.	US News – Best Global University Rankings MEDICINE – Infectious Diseases	46	–
2.	QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) DENTISTRY	51-70	–
3.	QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) CLASSICS & ANCIENT HISTORY	51-70	–
4.	Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities – Immunology	66	–
5.	THE IMPACT RANKING SDG5: GENDER EQUALITY	75	–
6	THE IMPACT RANKING SDG10: REDUCED INEQUALITIES	81	–
7.	Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities Pharmacology & Toxicology	81	76
8.	US News – Best Global University Rankings MEDICINE Cardiac and Cardiovascular Systems	91	–
9.	US News – Best Global University Rankings MEDICINE – Immunology	98	–
10.	Academic Ranking of World Universities Subject Ranking DENTISTRY (ARWU)	76-100	–
11.	THE IMPACT RANKING SDG4: QUALITY EDUCATION	101-200	–
12.	THE IMPACT RANKING SDG9: INDUSTRY – INNOVATION –INFRASTRUCTURE	101-200	–

As a result of our strategy, collective effort, and substantial research work of our academic community, we had by early 2023 numerous notable distinctions and achievements in most global University rankings. We briefly list a few of these achievements:

1. For 2022 NKUA ranked 12 times in the top 100 in 7 global University rankings.
2. For a 2^nd consecutive year, NKUA broke into the top 200 in one of the most significant global rankings, placing 186 in the Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities. The first such case was in January 2021, when our Institution received a Webometrics ranking of 182.
3. According to the latest announcement and the results in previous Top Universities by Top Google Scholar Citations rankings (Webometrics), the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens has established a national record by becoming the first Greek University to enter the top 100 of a global University ranking for a 5^th consecutive year—and 10^th time in a row.
4. Apart from the above performance, NKUA also topped the list of Greek Universities with 2,953,317 citations, and the same applied regionally, namely in the Balkans and the Mediterranean for 2022.
5. According to THE Impact Ranking, NKUA ranked 75^th globally for ‘Gender Equality’ and 81^st for ‘Reduced Inequalities.’
6. Five of the top seven global University rankings placed NKUA first among Greek Universities.

The strength of NKUA lies in its people—its faculty members and researchers—, who, with the help of the administrative staff, promote our country’s research abroad and serve as role models for our students. Notwithstanding the unfavourable conditions of funding and staffing, our University’s performance in global rankings demonstrates that collectively, with our academic credentials, professional backgrounds, and sense of teamwork, we are working for an internationally acclaimed research-oriented University. Under the above circumstances, the rise in the rankings appears to be a foregone conclusion.

Thanos Dimopoulos

Rector of NKUA