Newcastle University has achieved its highest ever position in the QS World University Rankings 2024.
The university came in at 110th, a rise of 12 places year-on-year, while it is also placed in the top 20 in the UK. Despite the good news, on the day of the results, the university is on the third day of a five-day strike.
The strike action is part of a dispute between staff and the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) over a range of issues related to pay and working conditions. As part of this, union members are not marking work produced by students towards their final degrees.
Read more: Newcastle University lecturers to strike for five days later this month
The University has said it is "extremely disappointed by the ongoing industrial action".
In the QS rankings' new indicator of International Research Network, which assesses the richness and diversity of an institution's international research partnerships, Newcastle is ranked 39th in the world. Its sustainability indicator, which ranks social and environmental impact, ranks Newcastle as 17th in the world.
Professor Chris Day, vice-chancellor and president at Newcastle University, said: "Building year on year to achieve our highest ever position is testament to the commitment and enthusiasm of all University colleagues. Our strong performance demonstrates the quality and impact of our teaching and research.
"The work we are doing to help our students build employability skills is recognised by the strong employer engagement score which shows that the experience they are developing on top of gaining an excellent degree, is leading them to success in the workplace.
"I am proud that we are achieving this while embracing sustainability in all aspects of university life as the sustainability indicator recognises how we are aligning our work with the UNSDGs in driving education, research and innovation across the university."
The QS University World Rankings analyses 1,499 international institutions across nine indicators, which are Academic Reputation, Employer Reputation, Faculty Student Ratio, Citations per Faculty, International Faculty Ratio, International Student Ratio alongside three additions to the headline methodology that are broadly aligned to strong trends in the higher education sector: Employability, Academic Collaboration and Sustainable Education.
Durham University was also included on the QS rankings in 78th. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) took top spot, followed by the University of Cambridge in second and the University of Oxford in third.
