For the fourth year running, French Human Resources consultancy Emerging joined forces with German polling institute Trendence to interview 4,500 recruiters in 20 different countries and produce a global picture of today’s best universities in terms of the employability of graduates.
The Global Employability University Survey 2014 found that employability is the number one criterion recruiters consider when choosing a university, according to 37.1% of respondents. Expertise in one field of competence is the second most important priority to look for when choosing a university according to 32.2% of respondents. Success for a university is also largely due to close contact with the business world—a point most respondents tend to agree upon. The university of tomorrow must prepare students for the realities of work with a balanced mix of theoretical and practical training.
The top ten universities in the ranking are as follows: Cambridge (GB), Harvard (US) and Yale (US) take the top three spots, followed by Oxford (GB), CalTech (US), MIT (US), Stanford (US), TUM (Ger), Princeton (US) and Tokyo (JP).
While the top tier remains Anglo-Saxon, with just under 50 % of the total, the remarkable rise of Asian universities in the ranking is a crucial factor. 30 Asian establishments now represent 20% of the total ranking compared with only 10% in the first edition in 2010. This is particularly significant for China (7), where the universities already in the ranking have gone up an average of 5 places, and two new ones have entered the ranking. Also noteworthy are the very good results of South Korea (4 with 2 new entrants) and Hong Kong universities and the rise (albeit from a very poor position) of Indian universities (5 with 2 new entrants).
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
