ASTANA – Eight Kazakhstan universities were included on the list of best universities in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, according to British company QS Quacquarelli Symonds’ December report. The new university rankings cover 30 Eastern European and Central Asian countries. Al-Farabi Kazakh National University was ranked 14, while L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University was placed at 23 .
According to Head of the QS Intelligence Unit Ben Sowter, who is responsible for managing all major QS research projects, Eastern European and Central Asian universities are making significant contributions to global higher education.
“Today, these universities are not just competing on the national or regional level, but they are entering the international arena by stimulating innovation and promoting their strengths as never before. As a result, they are becoming more attractive to students from all over the world,” he said.
Sowter also noted that the goal of their ranking is to provide universities with a platform upon which they can demonstrate their best features while at the same time helping students compare and choose amongst many institutions.
During the study, QS examined 368 universities, 255 of them had never been mentioned before in any ratings. Eight universities from Kazakhstan were included in the Top 100.
“We look forward to working with even more ambitious universities as the project progresses,” Sowter noted.
Russia takes the leading place in the ranking with 26 universities in total; Moscow State University is listed at number one. The next two countries with the largest number of universities in the rating were Turkey (10) and the Czech Republic (10), followed by Poland (9) and Kazakhstan (8).
The two top-ranked Kazakhstan universities among those eight are respected and amongst the best in the country.
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University is one of the oldest universities not only in Kazakhstan, but also in Central Asia. Kazakh National University was founded in 1934. The university has more than 19,000 students who study at 14 schools devoted to science, engineering, humanities and the social sciences. The university maintains close relations with leading universities from around the world. Every year, world-leading scholars including Nobel Prize winners such as John Forbes Nash, Finn E. Kydland, Roger D. Kornberg, Christopher Pissarides and Murray Gell-Mann deliver lectures to students. More than 500 international professors from 20 countries teach at the university.
L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University (ENU) was Kazakhstan’s second entry in the 2013/14 QS World University Rankings. Founded in 1996 in the capital Astana, ENU has about 13,000 students. Having set a mission of becoming a leading Eurasian research and education centre, ENU currently has 26 scientific institutions, including research institutes, laboratories and science centres. Other schools that made it into Top 100 of the ranking include the Kazakh-British Technical University (51-60), K.I. Satpayev Kazakh National Technical University (51-60), E.A. Buketov Karaganda State University (71-80), M.O. Auezov South Kazakhstan State University (71-80), and Abylai Khan Kazakh University of International Relations and World Languages (81-90).
QS World University Rankings is a prestigious annual ranking of the best universities in the world and is perhaps one of the most recognised and respected ratings of its kind. QS Rankings are compiled by experts from the QS Intelligence Unit (QSIU) in close cooperation with the International Advisory Board, an organisation that includes many leading scientists. The rankings are widely used by prospective students and specialists from universities and governments worldwide.
QSIU was formed in 2008; its main goal is to meet the increasing public demand for comparative data on universities and organisations and the growing demand for institutions to develop deeper insight into their competitive environment. It remains a distinct and autonomous department.
