Széchenyi István University ranks between 501st and 600th place on the list released by Times Higher Education (THE) on 14 May, featuring the world's best young universities. The institution's latest success is attributed to its strengthening research performance and its close industrial and international connections.

THE is one of the most renowned international organizations responsible for compiling university rankings, annually publishing the list of the best young—meaning up to 50 years old—universities. The latest list, released on 14 May, showcases the prestige of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, occupying the top spot. For the first time in its history, Széchenyi István University has made it onto the rankings, securing an impressive position between 501 and 600.

In the process of compiling the list, to ensure comprehensive and balanced comparison, THE examined performance indicators of institutions across five domains — teaching, research, research influence, international outlook, and industry knowledge transfer. The analysis took into account factors such as student-to-faculty ratio, the proportion of doctoral candidates to undergraduate and faculty-researcher ratios, research income, citation impact of publications, the presence of international students and visiting professors, as well as international collaborations.

At Széchenyi István University, students benefit from a European-standard infrastructural environment. (Photo: András Adorján)

"Higher education rankings are akin to sports matches: only the results matter. What makes the current list of young universities by THE unique is that it is prepared with the same rigorous methodology as the global ranking, with the difference that it places less emphasis on the institutions' reputation and prestige, where long-established universities, some even centuries old, have significant advantages. Thus, the ranking better reflects the true performance of universities," underscored Dr Eszter Lukács, Vice President for International and Strategic Relations at the university.

"Our staff has always been characterized by deliberate construction for the sake of development. Eight to ten years ago, we identified internationalization as a key strategic goal. Thanks to the colleagues involved in this effort, as well as the 2020 model change that allowed for more independent and autonomous operation of our institution, year by year we are getting closer to the global front runners. This, however, requires the simultaneous development of many areas, from education and research to collaborations with companies, sports, and culture, and places continuous expectations on all of us. Based on a new objective evaluation of this process, we are now ranked 501–600 among the world's young universities, which confirms that we are on the right track and that our University's performance is of high standard on a global level. This also strengthens Győr and the entire region. The implementation of our strategy until 2030 could bring further opportunities, the key to which lies in our innovation parks and international-level infrastructural development," emphasized Dr Bálint Filep, President of Széchenyi István University.

This marks the fourth international rankings by THE on which SZE has been featured, with the University having debuted on three of the lists either last year or this year. The institution is ranked in the 1501+ category on the THE World University Rankings and, based on sustainability goals, is among the top 400 universities globally in the categories of Sustainable Cities and Communities, Decent Work and Economic Growth, and Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions,. Additionally, on the subject-specific world ranking, it is listed in the 1001+ category in the field of engineering sciences.

Széchenyi István University attained university status in 2002 and has since undergone significant development. (Photo: MTI / Csaba Krizsán)