Greek universities slip in global rankings
Greek universities have slipped in global rankings this year, according to Quacquarelli Symonds, which publishes an annual overview of higher education institutions around the world.
Six Greek universities are included in the list of the world’s 600 top universities but five of the six have fallen in rankings and the University of Crete has slipped off the chart.
The National Technical University of Athens remains the highest-ranking Greek university on the list of the 400 best institutions in the world. However, it has slipped 19 places to 395th place.
Also, it no longer features in the list of the 250 top research institutes in the world after falling eight places in this year’s rankings.
The University of Crete is no longer on the list of top research institutes at all, while Thessaloniki’s Aristotle also performed worse this year, dropping into the category 491-500 from that of 461-470.
According to Quacquarelli Symonds, the poorer performance of Greek universities in the area of research is due in significant part to their limited finances and inability to attract new researchers from abroad.
According to Ben Sowter, head of the QS Intelligence Unit which compiles university rankings, the low level of state spending on education, research and development in Greece – 1.24 percent of gross domestic product compared with a European Union average of 2.03 percent of GDP – is a key reason for Greek universities’ inability to attract foreign academics and conduct significant international research.
