Alison Kershaw, PA
Cambridge tops universities table
King’s College chapel, Cambridge. Cambridge is the best university in the world, according to a new league table. Photo: Adam Davy/PA Wire
Cambridge is the best university in the world, according to a new league table.
The elite institution topped the eighth annual QS World University Rankings, seeing off competition from leading US institutions including Harvard, which took second place.
It is the second year running that Cambridge University has taken the top spot.
It wrestled first place from Harvard last year, pushing the American university into second for the first time since the tables began.
The QS World University Rankings questions academics and employers and rates universities worldwide on areas including research, teaching standards, graduate employability and international work.
Oxford University came fifth in the tables, up one place from last year, while Imperial College London came sixth this year, and University College London took seventh place.
The rest of the top 10 was made up of US institutions with Harvard in second place, Massachusetts Institute of Technology third, Yale University fourth, University of Chicago eighth, University of Pennsylvania ninth and Columbia University in 10th place.
In total, nine UK universities were in the top 50, and 17 overall in the top 100.
Besides those in the top 10, there were Edinburgh University (20th place), King’s College London (27), Manchester University (29), Bristol University (30), Warwick University (50), Glasgow University (59), London School of Economics (64), Birmingham University (67), Sheffield University (72), Nottingham University (74), Southampton University (75), Leeds University (93) and Durham University (95).
Ben Sowter, head of research at QS, said: “This year’s QS rankings show that the worst effects of the funding cuts have yet to be felt by UK universities. “However, pre-emptive redundancies and increased student intake have led to worse student to faculty ratios relative to their international peers.
“Of the 37 UK universities in the top 300, 34 fared worse in this measure than in 2010.”
Universities in The Netherlands, including Amsterdam University (63rd place) Utrecht (80) and Leiden (88), are all in the top 100 and offer English-language courses for less than £2,000 per year, QS said.
The University of Glasgow, one of three to feature from Scotland, moved 18 places to its position at 59 in the table. Anton Muscatelli, professor and principal and vice chancellor, said: “This is our best-ever performance in the QS World University rankings, a remarkable achievement and one that confirms Glasgow’s position as one of the world’s leading universities.
“At Glasgow we are justifiably proud of the quality of our teaching and research, and we know from the national student survey that we provide one of the very best student experiences in the UK.
“We are also proud to be contributing to Scotland’s continuing success on the world stage in Higher Education.”
“Being in the top one per cent of world universities is fantastic, and is a tribute to our tremendously hard working staff, researchers and students.”
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Pule' Carmel
Sep 10th 2011, 23:08
This is what Bertrand Russell said about Cambridge,
"I am looking forward very much to getting back to Cambridge, and being able to say what I think and not to mean what I say: two things which at home are impossible. Cambridge is one of the few places where one can talk unlimited nonsense and generalities without anyone pulling one up or confronting one with them when one says just the opposite the next day. "
Well I suppose that should earn it the best University in the World if that policy still applies!
A bORG
Sep 11th 2011, 08:53
Do you really think people will bother to read such long comments? They add up to longer than the article itself!!
Pule' Carmel
Sep 11th 2011, 10:56
Whether people read or do not read my comments, it does not bother me at all, and readers are free to discard long comments if they so wish. The Editor of the Times prints it quite clearly,"SUBMIT COMMENT" and while in the past comments were restricted to 200 words, now it seems that the Editor is quite happy to accept longer comments. If I wanted to be popular with the majority of the public, I know I would have to change my style for the general public have got other tastes, these styles are used by politicians, lawyers, doctors, psychiatrists, religions, entertainers, clowns and other professions who want to attract the public, and live off it! When I had young children, I played with children and spoke to them in the usual short hand fashion, as "do you want bum bu?" but as my children and my students get older, I feel that I may sometimes in my life be permitted to be me, and nobody else but me. As Bertrand Ruseell said. in Cambridge he felt that he could say what he thought without having to explain it. I feel the same, the Editor of the Times is kind enough to let me use the Times to be what I am, and to say what I think, without worrying to much about my readers apart from making it a must, that I never hurt anybody. I write hotter stuff than what is published and the Editor of the Times regulates my contribution for he must feel that the Maltese audience is not ready for it, well, I can wait, but I do not intend to use the Times and offer comments shorter and in a style that will make me popular, I intend to be me. just me. If others do not acept me as I am, I shall handle the way and walk alone.
Incidentally I would have enjoyed hearing you comments about my comments in addition to them being just LONG! Perhaps there are some readers who read my work by dividing it in stages and not to read it in one go so that they can assimilate its contents slowly. The trouble with modern society is that hey prefer to look at a picture which needs space and not time to view it rather than read a printed comment which needs space and a lot of time to decipher its symbolic notation. The public prefers effortless pleasures.
Pule' Carmel
Sep 10th 2011, 10:02
A university building is like any other symbol, its essence is found outside it ,not in it.
To prove the point , Einstein was a clerk when he got his ideas, The wright brothers watched birds fly around them, Maxwell did well before he went to college at the age of 13, Frank Whittle was critisized by British Universities including Cambridge, Lorenz , Openheimer we not bad either in not attending top Universities.
And last but not least was my own mother, who left school at 12 because her mother died, she looked after her father and at the same time read profusely, she learnt all she wanted to learn including becoming a wife and mother of six children, President of a few social groups, discussed issues with Bishops and Prime ministers, learnt four languages when necessary and for 15 years she wrote to me when I lived in England and her letters were of the highest standards, in the essence of logic, style and wisdom .
The best Univesity is just around you, do not look at what you see around you as mere symbols, thinking that the essence is in the symbol itself, that is were most people go wrong, the essence of a symbol in front of us, is within us. Look for it and when you find it, you would have become conscious of what the best Univesity is. Funnily enough the Best University in not in front of us, it is within us, working in conjunction with other universities with the "ities" replaced with an "e" that is THE UNIVERSE around us. So the Best University is us centred within the Universe, and all one needs to do is use the human senses to detect it and what you cannot detect with human sensors invent a silent instrument to do the job for you . That what you cannot hear or see or speak about, find it in silence. It is all there for the finding, no excuses for anybody.
Pule' Carmel
Sep 10th 2011, 11:52
Any University seeks the truth, nothing else but the truth. There are situations in our universe which obey a logic of facts while others though termed useful, are not based on facts, but emotions. I prefer to live in a world of Universal facts rather than base my knowledge on senseless unexamined conclusions. Over the years Universities changed their style from studying traditions to a new philosophy in that “what science cannot discover, mankind cannot!”
It is for this reason that my Universe is based on three issues, in finding the logical essence within three areas, The Universe, The Language , and the Mathematics. The nature of the essence in these areas is logical, all else is senseless and I cannot see why people find other issues which are untrue, so useful, where the only explanation is that emotions play havoc on our mind.
In all the three areas I mentioned, one comes across symbols, plenty of them. If one considers the depth s of our life, it comes as a big surprise to know that most of us live in a world of symbolic notation and we do not bother to get at the essence of each symbol. If we take a walk and see a tree or a car, our knowledge of such symbols ahead of us is their essence of existence as otherwise we cannot see it. Another essence we know is that we have to go around them to avoid them and not the other way around. In the case of the car there are other essences about a car in making sure to avoid colliding with then, but such an essence is in our mind and not in the car ahead of us. And here is Education, most people stay at the level of looking as symbols only appreciating what the symbol contains in itself and not the deeper essence down to atomic behaviour, not even a little lower as how the engine works or how the steering geometry works.
As I walk around Malta, I smile a little at the people around me for , most cannot understand that the symbol in front of them contains more that what is contained in it and people would go around decorating themselves and their homes with just symbols which would transfer a message to the neighbour , a message which is far less important than any essence contained outside the symbol. Political parties, The church festivities, and all other Maltese situations are full of symbols which to many do not mean a thing.
I just wonder how many wear a weeding ring and when asked about why it is round all they say, “ Well, so that it would go on your finger!” That is the feature contained in the symbol, but surely not the better essence contained in the symbol of a wedding ring.
It is interesting that as children our first perceptions of the world around us in the area of the Universe, Language , and Mathematics merely the outside form, which is an essence in itself. If we consider that the world is made up of essences, then the most important essence of any essence is its Existence while the second most important essence is its outside form. Walking around, even in University corridors and classes , I came to the conclusion that many people, within the essences of a fact , they are only capable of seeing its existence and its form. Any other essences are left out , and in fact I am not sure that they are aware of any other essences that exist outside a symbol always taking for granted that the essence of a symbol lies within itself.
It would come as a surprise to know that the essence within or outside any symbol can be operated upon to generate other useful essences to get to know the symbol better.
I do believe that the intention of a University is to transmit the fact that a University’s role is to inform the people that an essence within a symbol in the Universe, Language or Mathemtics can be dissected to other simple essences, till each essence can stand on its own, not withstanding that every essence is this universe does not contain in it all the reasons for its existence. Hence a University is only a system within us capable of dissenting essences to very simple form but not any simples as the essence is lost.
I shall not state where art, values and religion comes into all this as m most of their essence is not based on logic and any faith hole and charity plus courage are only useful to a university man only if he applies them to having faith in reason and not emotions.
I shall stop here. I promised myself not to write for a few weeks, but I am preparing my mind for an important lecture so I might as well prepare my notes and try them out on the readers of the times!
Pule' Carmel
Sep 10th 2011, 18:02
Note the best University is "Us" included in "Universe" which obviously is, or perhaps "Us in verse" or "Uni verse" indication that when we realise that the universe is one poem with its own rythms, that is where education really begins. Live to find the essences within Facts and Love. Facts are logical essences needing the Universe, Language and Mathematics to support them in relation to us, Love is illogical, very illogical and if we do not read about love we would never feel it, it is perhaps the best essence that comes under the title of being useful but illogical and cannot be experimented scientifically, but humans need it and most probably the most numerous Symbols depict Love and a Darkness which some people seek. There are many lunatics who agree on illogical unexamined conclusions, but there are other people who are not lunatics and they agree on what is illogical but good for humanity and they thrive on sybolic expressions which most followers do not understand. I wonder how I would prove sientifically, that under normal circumstances, " it is better to be alive than dead" , " better fed than starved" " better free than slaved" and finally" ," being a virgin in this world is not that much of a virtue to be followed by a human". Recently I have studied some those people who make it to popularity in, arts, the media and being the centre of attraction and worshiped in a manner bby worshiper. I have studied the symbolism they use and what effect. And what suffering they go through to live up to it, to carry those symbols before them as it it is the most important thing to live for , some even reject living as humans with their normal instincts , to give it all up to live a life full of symbolic colourful notations, which in the end vanishes . Some linguists and artists and philosophers are like a clock with the pendulum removed where it goes faster then normal, and a clock without a pendulum cares more about creating emotions rather than the normal pace set by the real measurable logic or the universe aaround us. Dan huwa l-opinioni taghhom, opinioni bla kejl, imma opinioni bil passioni, m'ghandux konvinzjoni hlif ghal minn igorru fih! Kull simbolu huwa drogattiv, irridu nistudjaw l'essenzi kollha tieghu u mhux biss l-essenza ta l-Ezistennza u tal Forma. There is an essence in Symbolizm of which many are not aware of and it is the last stages of a University that must ensure that any of its students learn to measure that amongst modern society there will be many, knowing what people read in symbols, they will make a living of selling a drug which society itself will not term as a drug, but it is as its logic can never be scientifically measured and the universe itself does not produce it on its own! So stick to Facts and to Love
I guarantee that the scientific conclusions on Facts will be tentative, those of love , many think that they are dogmatic, being a sceptic about either is not healthy . Try not to live in fear and we all have to live in an ever growing symbolic world where stupid men are cocksure of the essence of their symbols while intelligent men are full of doublt about the symbols they use. Hoping I belong to the latter, I apologize for the inexactness of my spelling and of my contents, but it is only tentative till I caome across another idea tomorrow. I so not want to be dogmatic on my readers,
Reading this again, It is wonderfull how the symbols of a language can transfer my silent thoughts, through a silent medium, being read bby a person who knows that the essence of my typing symbols are within himself and the result is that my thoughts are regenerated within the reader. Now that is a fascination I live in and I have no intention to be dogmatic and any reader can reject my thoughts, provided that he peoduces a scientific argument and not because he thinks that taking part in carrying a useless symbol is a sign of success or that old traditions are dogmatic and are not to be changed, ever.