Jindal Global University youngest in India to enter QS rankings

New Delhi: India-based O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) has said that it's the youngest university to have found a place in the 2020 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings, which were declared on Wednesday in London.

The decade-old university has been placed among the top 2.67 per cent of all universities globally.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, JGU said it prided itself on being the only Indian university in the QS world rankings, which focused on social sciences and humanities.

"Historically, university rankings have favoured universities that are oriented towards science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) disciplines and medicine. However, JGU is the only Indian university to challenge this tradition solely focusing on social sciences, arts, humanities and professions such as law, business administration and architecture," said the statement.

Founding Chancellor Naveen Jindal said that the global recognition was a testament to the power of private philanthropy in higher education.

"It goes to show that a private university doing excellent work can become a world-class university. My congratulations to the leadership, students, faculty and staff of JGU," he said.

Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice-Chancellor of JGU said: "This is an extraordinary international recognition for a university which is barely a decade old. Our commitment to maintaining the highest standards of excellence since our founding has helped us achieve this distinction." Established in 2009 in memory of businessman O.P. Jindal, JGU has eight schools for law, business, international affairs, government and public policy, liberal arts and humanities, journalism and communication, art and architecture, and banking and finance.

"It is a moment of pride for India, as one of its youngest universities has made a remarkable entry into the global league tables," Ashwin Fernandes, Regional Director - MENA & South Asia, QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) said in a statement.

The top five are Indian institutions on the QS world rankings are Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, Indian Institute of Science, IIT Madras, IIT Delhi and IIT Kharagpur. Globally, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Harvard University, University of Oxford and California Institute of Technology have taken the top 5 spots.