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SA universities scored as world’s best computer science and engineering institutions are named

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Gill Gifford Senior journalist
UCT is among several SA institutions on Times Higher Education's latest World University Rankings by subject for computer science and engineering. File photo.
UCT is among several SA institutions on Times Higher Education's latest World University Rankings by subject for computer science and engineering. File photo.
Image: ESA ALEXANDER

Times Higher Education today released the results of its World University Rankings 2022 by subject for computer science and engineering.

The London-based organisation known for its global rankings lists for universities around the world has rated Oxford University in the UK as the top choice for computer science, with the US racking an impressive 35 universities among the top 100.

This is the second year in a row that Oxford has topped the list, which ranks 891 universities from 75 countries and regions.

South Africans wanting to study computer science will be relieved to know seven universities in the country made it onto the list. Stellenbosch University came in at 491, the University of Cape Town (UCT) at 519, the University of Pretoria (UP) at 574, the University of Johannesburg at 679, University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) at 689, Wits University at 792 and Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) at 887.

Australia is also a good bet for a computer science degree, with 10 of its universities consistently making it into the top 200 since 2018.

A record 12 mainland China universities also ranked in the top 200, with the country’s Peking University and Tsinghua University making it into the top 20.

 

The US has again emerged as the outright global leader for teaching in engineering. Harvard retains its top spot as the elite institution, followed by Stanford, Berkeley and MIT. Places five and six went to the UK’s Cambridge and Oxford.

Closer to home, nine SA institutions have featured on the list of 1,188 universities offering engineering. They are TUT at 398, UJ at 442, North West University at 467, Stellenbosch at 484, UCT at 638, UKZN at 697, UP at 740, Wits at 797 and the Durban University of Technology at 846.

Asia took 28 spots in the top 100, Australia took eight places and Canada ranked with five.

Phil Baty, chief knowledge officer for Times Higher Education, said while the US and other western nations dominated the top positions for students wanting to study computer sciences and engineering, many other diverse countries and regions were also offering top-notch degrees, with Asia standing out as a rising power.

“With the likelihood of hybrid and digital teaching staying with us for some time, it will be interesting to see how universities adapt to this new normal, how they might become increasingly attractive to local and international students and how the established elite might be challenged as a result,” he said.

*This article has been amended to include UJ's rankings, which were omitted from the original article. We regret the omission.

TimesLIVE 

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