Polish universities lead the way among EU13 countries

Times Higher Education data analysis reveals the top universities from across the 13 latest European Union member states

July 3, 2023
Tiya Thomas-Alexander

Poland is the top-performing country in a new Times Higher Education analysis of the best research-intensive universities in “EU13” – the 13 nations that have joined the European Union since 2004.

The country takes six spots in the top 30 table, and 32 places in the overall list of 112 institutions, more than any other nation. Poland’s leading institution is the University of Warsaw, in fourth place.

The second-most represented country overall is Romania, with 20 institutions, but just two of these make the top 20, according to the analysis, which was developed for and presented at the THE Europe Universities Summit 2023.

The analysis shows that there is a spread of strong institutions across the region, with no single country dominating the list.

When taking into account the size of a country’s higher education system, Cyprus leads the pack. All three of the nation’s ranked institutions feature among the top 30, led by the University of Cyprus in seventh place.

The analysis uses the same methodology as the THE World University Rankings. But the metric and pillar scores show performance only in relation to other institutions in the EU13, rather than across the world.

Universities in Cyprus score particularly well for international outlook, with an average score of 87.4 out of 100 in this pillar.

Meanwhile, two of Estonia’s three ranked universities are in the top 30 overall, and the country achieves the highest average research score (38 out of 100). The University of Tartu claims second place, while Tallinn University of Technology occupies 12th position.

The Czech Republic’s Charles University takes the number one spot, driven largely by its strong research score, while Hungary’s Semmelweis University is third.

THE’s managing director of data science, David Watkins, said that over the past five years, the performance of universities in these 13 European countries has been improving, particularly in terms of attracting international students and boosting reputation.

He added that the new data analysis “pays more attention to differences in research and teaching metrics, yielding a different view of the universities than is seen in the World University Rankings”.

The EU nations included in the list are: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

tiya.alexander@timeshighereducation.com

Top universities in EU13

Rank World University Rank 2023 Institution Country Teaching score Research score Citation score Industry score International score Overall score
1 501–600 Charles University Czech Republic 72.9 84.4 50.9 37.7 65.1 68.3
2 201–250 University of Tartu Estonia 41.6 57.7 94.6 58.1 66.5 64.6
3 201–250 Semmelweis University Hungary 52.1 27.3 90 52.5 78.2 58
4 801–1,000 University of Warsaw Poland 58.7 70 43.5 39 43.5 55.9
5 601–800 Jagiellonian University Poland 52.5 51.8 58 38.5 41.2 52.7
6 351–400 Wroclaw Medical University Poland 41.1 14 91.1 40.1 37.7 47.7
7 401–500 University of Cyprus Cyprus 28.6 33.3 68.5 82.4 85.3 47.6
8 601–800 Eötvös Loránd University Hungary 45.6 37.5 50.8 37.4 53 45.1
9 501–600 University of Nicosia Cyprus 22.3 21.6 77.4 38.1 96.6 44.6
10 501–600 Bucharest University of Economic Studies Romania 19.5 13.5 100 38.9 24.8 42.7
11 801–1,000 Masaryk University Czech Republic 35.1 51.1 34.8 39.7 67.6 42.4
12 601–800 Tallinn University of Technology Estonia 24.4 30.4 56.3 74.8 79.1 41.1
13 801–1,000 University of Ljubljana Slovenia 32.2 37.9 48.1 51.1 48.7 40.4
14 601–800 Riga Stradiņš University Latvia 17.7 13.1 77.3 40.1 74.1 39
15 601–800 Medical University of Lodz Poland 21.5 10.9 82 37.4 30.5 37.6
16 601–800 Cyprus University of Technology Cyprus 24.4 21.7 55.1 41.7 80.3 37.4
17 801–1,000 Vilnius University Lithuania 27.6 27.9 48.4 58.9 56.5 36.9
18 801–1,000 University of Latvia Latvia 20.3 36 46.3 61.7 55.7 36.5
19 801–1,000 University of Malta Malta 22.1 25 54.6 38.3 63.6 36.2
20 1,001–1,200 Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań Poland 33.1 45.8 29 42.5 34.5 36
21 801–1,000 Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Lithuania 21.8 11.5 62.2 38.1 59.5 34.1
22 801–1,000 University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice Czech Republic 23 25.5 48 37 52.1 33.8
23 801–1,000 Iuliu Haţieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca Romania 21.9 10 63.1 37.7 52.4 33.4
24 1,001–1,200 Comenius University in Bratislava Slovakia 29.4 24.5 40.5 37.5 54 33.3
25 1,001–1,200 University of Debrecen Hungary 40.4 20.9 30.5 49.2 60.8 33.3
26 1,001–1,200 Palacký University Olomouc Czech Republic 23.1 28.6 40.9 39 60.3 33.3
27 801–1,000 Medical University of Gdańsk Poland 27.7 11.3 57 37 42.2 32.9
28 1,001–1,200 University of Pécs Hungary 43 19.4 27.8 41.3 56.8 32.4
29 1,001–1,200 Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZU) Czech Republic 20.8 19 43 73.9 72.3 32.1
30 1,001–1,200 University of Szeged Hungary 28.3 24.2 34 43.5 61.5 31.6
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