While the academic community is awaiting the announcement of the QS global ranking of academic institutions for 2024, within days, the Kuwait University is expected to move to a higher level in the new announcement of the classification, according to the preliminary reports of the QS institution.
Al-Qabas sources indicated that the classification of Kuwait University is expected to rise to the category 801-1000, after it was in the category from 1001-1200, as the first reports indicate a rise in the degrees of Kuwait University in the international classification in 3 main criteria –the standard of academic reputation, the standard of opinion of the authorities and the criterion for the ratio of faculty members to students.
This improvement in the classification of Kuwait University comes as a result of efforts that extended over the past five years, started by the university in 2018, as improving the classification requires the passage of years to take the necessary steps.
The Supreme Council of the university has taken several serious steps to improve its classification, starting in 2018, when the university council at that time, headed by the Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Hamed Al-Azmi, approved the formation of a committee to enhance classification.
The committee was headed by the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs with representatives of the General Secretariat of the University and the Planning and Research sectors and representatives from colleges as members.
The committee concluded by adopting a strategy, which was published by Al-Qabas in August 2018, under the title “Kuwait University is moving to improve its global classification.”
The strategy aimed to improve the classification in 3 criteria — academic reputation, the opinion of employers, and the percentage of faculty members.
It is remarkable that they are the same criteria that scored high in the latest ranking of universities.
In addition, the same year witnessed the issuance of a decision by the University Council to develop scientific journals issued by the Scientific Publishing Council, which undoubtedly contributed to improving the academic reputation of the university, as well as emphasizing the importance of developing scientific journals for the Scientific Publishing Council and converting them into international journals.
These efforts did not stop at this point, as the Minister of Education and former Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Muhammad Al-Faris, continued to follow up the university’s efforts towards improving its global classification, as the file was the subject of discussion between the university and the Parliamentary Education Committee, and Al-Faris pledged at the time to form an investigation committee to find out the reasons for the decline at the university and find solutions.
In continuation of the efforts to improve the university’s classification, it was clear that the steps are bearing fruit, as the first announcement of expectations for improving the university’s classification came from the Minister of Education and former Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Ali Al-Mudhaf, in April 2022, when he announced that the classification of Kuwait University would improve soon.
A month after Al-Mudhaf announced the expectations of improving the classification, the Planning Sector, represented by the Acting Vice Chancellor for Planning in May 2022, Dr. Muhammad Zainal, revealed 7 initiatives that contribute to strengthening the university’s position globally.
Advance in 3 main criteria:
— Academic reputation
— Opinion of academic work bodies
— Percentage of faculty members
QS criteria for ranking universities:
— Academic reputation 40%
— Opinion of academic work bodies 10%
— The ratio of faculty members to students is 20%
— Faculty members’ research citation rate is 20%
— The percentage of foreign academic staff members is 5%
— The percentage of foreign students is 5%
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