Israeli universities have slipped slightly in the Shanghai Ranking. However, they score highly when it comes to how successful graduates are in founding start-ups.
In this year’s Shanghai Ranking of the top 2,500 universities, two Israeli institutions feature in the top 100: the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot was ranked 71st by the experts, the same as last year, whilst the Hebrew University of Jerusalem dropped one place to 89th.
Last year, three Israeli universities were still among the top 100: the Technion in Haifa was ranked 97th at the time, but now ranks in the 101–150 range. Since 2012, the institute has consistently been in the top 100, with the exception of 2020.
In the rankings published on Saturday, the experts took various criteria into account, including the number of research papers published, the frequency of citations and the award of a Nobel Prize. The rankings have been published since 2003.
Successful young entrepreneurs from Israel
Meanwhile, graduates of Israeli universities are extremely successful at setting up start-ups in the US. This is shown by figures from the economic researcher Ilya Strebulaev at Stanford University. He is investigating the development of start-ups that achieve a market value of more than 1 billion US dollars, so-called unicorns.
According to figures presented in June and July, 166 founders of such companies earned their university degrees in Israel. Among non-American universities, only Indian institutions rank higher, with 189 founders.
Israeli universities also excel in another area: regarding the likelihood of graduates founding a unicorn in the US, six Israeli institutions appear among the top 18 universities outside the US—accounting for one-third of the list.
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Reichman University, the Technion, Bar-Ilan University, and Tel Aviv University occupy places 3 through 7 in the rankings. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ranks ninth.
A prestigious club
These figures confirm an analysis published in February by the US venture capital firm SignalFire. According to the report, three Israeli universities rank among the top 30 institutions attended by startup founders: Tel Aviv University, the Technion, and the Hebrew University. The only other non-US universities represented on the list are Oxford and Cambridge from the UK.
When considering only non-US universities, Israel’s share is even more significant: seven of the 21 listed institutions are located in the Jewish state.
Source: israelnetz (in German)| Author: Daniel Frick | Additional information: The Times of Israel