VMU – the Most International University in Lithuania

A recently published international ranking of universities in Europe and central Asia (QS EECA University Rankings) revealed that Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) was ranked 61st out of 451 higher education institutions ranked in total – VMU was included among the 13.5 percent of the best universities in the region. As in the previous year, the internationality of the university received the highest position: with regard to this indicator, VMU received the first place among all other Lithuanian universities ranked and the 43rd place in the overall ranking.

“Both the experience gained and the favorable infrastructure created help us to maintain and develop a high level of internationalization of the community and activities of the university. We have a wide range of partnerships, which this year has been particularly strengthened by joining the Transform4Europe alliance. Other aspects, such as our “internationalization at home” activities, improvement of foreign language competencies, and fostering of an inclusive environment for international students and staff, also have a positive impact. This gives us reasonable belief that the international dimension will continue to strengthen our studies, scientific and research activities, and the creation of an impact on society,” said Vilma Bijeikienė, VMU Vice-Rector for Communication.

Compared to last year, Vytautas Magnus University has improved its position more successfully than other Lithuanian universities ranked as this year it was ranked 61st compared to last year when it placed 65th in the ranking. The university has managed to improve its positions both in the overall ranking (65th place among 400 universities in 2020) and in individual categories. VMU ranked higher with respect to four indicators: Employer Reputation (51st place), Faculty Staff with PhD (73rd place), Papers per Faculty (data from the SCOPUS database) (68th place) and International Faculty Ratio (43rd place).

This year, the university received higher scores in six out of ten categories, including Faculty Staff with PhD (89,7 out of 100 points), International Faculty Ratio (71,4 points) and International Research Network (65 points).

VMU also improved the university’s image by 5 percent in terms of academic and employer reputation scores.  It was also found that citations per paper have increased in the fields of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts.

Since 2018, VMU has managed to rise from 72nd to 61st place in the ranking.

QS Emerging Europe and Central Asia University Rankings aim to track the performance of higher education institutions in these regions. The rankings include an assessment of indicators, such as Employer Reputation, Academic Reputation, Faculty/Student Ratio, Faculty Staff with PhD, Citations per Paper, Papers per Faculty, International Faculty Ratio, International Research Network and International Students Ratio.