Universities want more investments to stay among world's best

Dutch universities still score well in international rankings, such as the recently published Shanghai Ranking, but chairman Pieter Duisenberg of the university association VSNU wonders "for how much longer". According to him, investments in research and innovation in the Netherlands lag behind countries "with which we like to compare ourselves".

"In order to maintain our position in the future, we will have to structurally increase to the 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in investment in research agreed upon in Europe. The level that our neighboring countries like Germany and the Scandinavian countries have already exceeded," said Duisenberg.

This year, three Dutch universities are in the top 100 of the authoritative Shanghai Ranking, led by that of Utrecht in place 50 - two places higher than in 2020. This is followed by Groningen in place 64 (five places higher than last year) and Leiden in place 83, three spots lower than last year.

In 2020, four Dutch universities made it to the global top 100. Erasmus University has fallen to the block below and, according to the makers of the ranking, is still one of the 150 best universities in the world, just like Radboud University Nijmegen, the University of Amsterdam, the Vrije Universiteit, and Wageningen University & Research. TU Delft is in the block of 50 universities below that and can therefore count itself among the best 200 universities.

Duisenberg said that he is "hugely proud" of our universities. "Although you should not focus only on it, it is very important for our international knowledge position that we are highly regarded in these types of rankings," he said.

The top three of the Shanghai Ranking are Harvard (US), Stanford (US), and Cambridge (UK).