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Celebrating the Top Universities in the BRICS Countries 2014
By Laura Bridgestock
Updated March 6, 2016 Updated March 6, 2016It’s been a month since the launch of the 2014 QS University Rankings: BRICS, highlighting the 200 top universities in the BRICS countries this year, and we’ve been busy taking a closer look at what the ranking reveals about the higher education systems of these five fast-growing emerging economies.
We started with an overview, written by QS Global Advisory Board member Martin Ince, accompanied by a spotlight on this year’s top 10 BRICS universities. Next came a series focusing on the strengths and weaknesses of each country’s higher education system, breaking down the overall results by considering each of the eight indicators used to create the ranking.
Strengths and weaknesses by country
Leading Brazilian universities, it emerged, claim many of the best-qualified faculties, while lagging behind in numbers of international students and academics. The top universities in India likewise boast high proportions of staff with a PhD, and research production rates to rival even Chinese institutions, while faculty/student ratio remains an area for some concern. This last point is also a weak spot for South African universities, which, however, claim some of the strongest scores for research impact and proportion of international academics among these emerging economies.
The staffing levels which present a major challenge for many of the BRICS countries seem much more under control at top universities in Russia, but here research production and impact rates remain relatively low. And finally, while universities in China dominate the ranking overall (taking 71 of the top 200 spots), they still have some catching up to do, particularly in academic staff levels.
Student life in the BRICS countries
As well as analyzing the results of the ranking and what they might mean for each country, we also took the opportunity to celebrate the BRICS countries – and other emerging economies – more widely. A blog post exploring culture and cuisine in the BRICS countries highlighted the diverse attractions and environments each nation has to offer prospective students: starting with Brazil’s vibrant Carnival scene, we journeyed through Russia’s rich literary heritage, took in the crowds at India’s renowned religious festivals, contemplated China’s legendary martial arts schools and marveled at South Africa’s incredible wildlife.
Honing in on the urban centers where most international students are likely to be based, we explored 10 of the best student cities in emerging economies – including cities in the BRICS countries alongside other fast-developing nations such as Mexico, Taiwan and Argentina. Fans of cityscapes will be pleased to hear we included some stunning images too!
Finally, we created a ‘scorecard’ for each country, highlighting its top universities, international standing, higher education ‘superpowers’ and areas for improvement.
Have you seen the 2014 QS University Rankings: BRICS yet?
This article was originally published in July 2014 . It was last updated in March 2016
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The former editor of TopUniversities.com, Laura oversaw the site's editorial content and student forums. She also edited the QS Top Grad School Guide and contributed to market research reports, including 'How Do Students Use Rankings?'
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