Three Jordanian universities enter The Times higher education world ranking

AMMAN — The Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST), the University of Jordan (UJ) and the Hashemite University on Tuesday were listed in the Times Higher Education World University Ranking of 2016-2017, which includes institutions from 79 countries and selects an elite 5 per cent of the world’s best universities. 

In an interview with The Jordan Times, Higher Education Minister Adel Tweisi congratulated the universities and expressed his hopes that “this will be a step towards appearing in more prominent rankings in the near future, such as the Shangai and the QS rankings.” 

Furthermore, the minister praised “the cumulative effort made by everyone — and especially the faculty members — in the three universities over the last years to realise such an achievement”. 

On top of the three Jordanian universities that entered the ranking, JUST positioned itself as one of the 500 best universities in the world and the 119th in the BRICS and Emerging Economies ranking. 

JUST therefore set a historic record, becoming the first Jordanian university to achieve such a position in the global ranking. 

According to the ranking’s website, JUST displayed excellence in its “strong, multi-disciplinary educational system and broad diversity of students”, with a 20 per cent of international students coming from a total of 48 countries. 

They also listed the establishment of the Regional Institute of Infectious Diseases and Antimicrobial Resistance along with Purdue University, which seeks to alleviate global threats of infectious diseases and to strengthen Jordan’s health capacities, as one of the key success indicators for JUST.

UJ came second in the list of Jordanian universities that have entered the ranking, making it to the category of the best 1,000 universities worldwide and the best 250 in the BRICS and Emerging Economies list. 

The ranking’s website highlighted that UJ is both the largest and the oldest university in the Kingdom, with a total of 18 faculties, noting that its hospital is affiliated with the first JCI Diseases Specific Certificate-accredited Cancer Centre outside the US, the King Hussein Cancer Centre. 

UJ is also a member of the International Association of Universities, the Federation of Universities of the Islamic World, the Mediterranean Universities Union, and the Association of Arab Universities, the website stated. 

The Hashemite University ranked 1001th and one of the best 300 universities in the BRICS and Emerging Economies list, positioning itself as the third best university in Jordan. 

The ranking’s website pointed out how this university started out with four different faculties, expanding up to 18.

Furthermore, the Hashemite University also issued three international peer-reviewed scientific journals in collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.