QS Insights Magazine
Issue 18 June 2024
Talking about reputation
Contents
Closed doors?
As countries put limits on the inflow of international students, we explore the reasons why and the implications of such shifts.
Politics & house building
How housing is related to governments turning off the tap for international students and what it means for higher education.
Funding frustrations: Ideology & political culture
Geographic, economic and political factors affect funding situations for different academic disciplines in different ways.
Scrolling to success
How is social media changing student recruitment?
Sust(AI)nable higher education
What lies ahead in the future of higher ed with the increasingly significant presence of sustainability and artificial intelligence?
Talking about reputation
What reputation means to universities and what it entails.
Unstoppable: A profile on Lorena Paglia
How Microsoft’s Lorena Paglia finds the courage to take the path less wandered and what skills she feels are most important for future young leaders.
Beyond the invisible wall
Navigating racial bias and building empathy in modern America.
Meet QS ImpACT's Sustainability Educator winner
Etape Ngole’s project aims to cultivate a new generation of environmental advocates committed to promoting regeneration and sustainability
QS World University Rankings 2025
Explore the latest results of the much awaited QS World University Rankings 2025.
Beyond rankings: Expanding data horizons
Universities should uncover data insights and leverage knowledge to improve their strategic and operational understanding of their institutions.
Unit
Amid a politically tumultuous period for higher ed, what do the numbers tell us about the state of the sector?
Twenty years is a long time in any industry. To put it into context, younger employees typically stay in a job for about two to three years. Restaurants, meanwhile, tend to last only 10 years or so. The average lifespan of a company in the S&P 500 is just over 21 years.
There’s a lot to celebrate about the 2025 QS World University Rankings, and one of those is its longevity. Last year, we celebrated the 20th edition, but this year, we celebrate a full 20 year or thank rankings.
Longevity, of course, must come with evolution and adaptation. In a world where we expect graduates to continually improve, it only makes sense that the metrics we use for success should do so, too. In many ways, the first ranking all those years ago is very different from the rankings of today.
Just as the rankings have changed, so has the landscape in which they come out. The inclusions of new metrics last year, particularly the Sustainability Metric, reflect different attitudes and priorities of universities and students. But there are also many things that, while not impacting the rankings themselves, can help to inform them. Often, in the QS Yearbook, I talk about providing context to the rankings, but we can also use the rankings to provide context to the sector.
Currently it’s no secret that the main concern for many study destinations is policy that could restrict or discourage international students. These stories have dominated the headlines in recent months, and QS Insights Magazine itself has reported on these developments, both in the past and this very issue.
There are clear concerns around the quality of higher education in many countries. Some of those concerns are based in fact. Others, however, are not. What 20 years of rankings shows us, is that despite the current political turmoil, international higher education is incredibly resilient. It has bounced back before, and it can bounce back again.
It also shows a continual improvement in quality. This year, there are more universities in the rankings than ever, highlighting the uplift in the number of high-quality study options around the world. Digging into the trends, you can also see the impact of policies made years ago bearing out in the data. Some “surprising” countries on the rise are hardly surprising when you dig further into their goals only a few years earlier.
If there is much to celebrate about the 2025 QS World University Rankings, I think there is even more inside which celebrates the sector. The universities and regions on the move. Those that have invested time and resources into research agendas and are seeing the fruits of their labour bare out in international recognition and collaboration. The pockets experiencing boosts to international student numbers. Those who have set their sights on sustainability.
It is a tense time within the higher education sector globally. Shifts are underway, and where they ultimately lead will only be known in the future. But for now, we hope this edition of QS Insights Magazine and the 2025 QS World University Rankings help you understand where you currently are.
Anton John Crace
Anton is Editor in Chief of QS Insights Magazine. He also curates the Higher Ed Summits, EDS and Reimagine Education conference at QS Quacquarelli Symonds. He has been writing on the international higher ed sector for over a decade. His recognitions include the Universities Australia Higher Education Journalist of the Year at the National Press Club of Australia, and the International Education Association of Australia award for Excellence in Professional Commentary.
Contributors
Editor-in-chief Anton John Crace
Deputy Editor Afifah Darke
Content Manager Khushboo Singh
Contributing writers Julia Gilmore Rohan Mehra Seb Murray Niamh Ollerton Chloë Lane
Guest writers Jingwen Mu Ant Bagshaw Cherrie Feng
Events Technology Manager Loh Lu Han
Marketing and PR Serena Ricci Mak Leeson
Cover Adobe Stock, with additional edits
Sales contact sales@qs.com
The QS Insights Magazine is a monthly, online and print publication that highlights trends within the international education sector.
The online edition is emailed to our network of academics and university leaders worldwide. A limited number of selected copies of the print edition are also sent to university leaders around the world and distributed at QS events.
The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of QS Quacquarelli Symonds.