Wits ranks second in Africa

Wits University (Wits) has been ranked the second best university in Africa in the Times Higher Education snapshot rankings of the best universities in Africa.

Wits, which was only beaten by the University of Cape Town, is committed to building a nationally responsive and globally competitive institution. This is why in the last month, Wits has made some impressive headlines that earn the university its ranking.

Professor Lee Berger, an award-winning palaeoanthropologist, researcher, explorer, author and speaker from the Evolutionary Studies Institute at Wits, was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world for his many contributions to science.

The Wits vice chancellor and principal, Adam Habib, was one of only two South Africans to be elected to join the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the America’s oldest learned societies and independent policy research centres.

Professor Vishnu Padayachee was inducted into the Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars. The society inducts a limited number of former postdoctoral fellows, postdoctoral degree recipients, house staff and junior or visiting faculty who have served at least a year at Johns Hopkins and thereafter gained marked distinction elsewhere in their fields.

These achievements did not necessarily directly lead to the ranking, but there is a high likelihood that they contributed to the second place. The rankings are compiled on four pillars, namely: teaching, research, citations, industry income, and international outlook or reputation.

“Wits university is mindful of the fact that many ranking systems use different methodologies, and their results must therefore be approached with a level of measured circumspection. We believe that as a university we should not be detracted by such ranking systems,” said Professor Habib.

He added, “Our focus should instead be on building a nationally responsive and globally competitive institution, one that is both demographically diverse and cosmopolitan. Should we do this well, we would be responsive to our mandate of producing socially conscious and globally competitive professionals and citizens for the 21st century. This is our primary focus, and if we do this well, it will be evident in the results of the more established and relevant ranking systems.”

Details: Wits University, 011 717 1000.

Related articles: Lee Berger captured in Time