Attractive for International Researchers
1 September 2017
Universität Heidelberg ranks eighth in latest Humboldt ranking
Heidelberg University is extremely attractive for foreign researchers, as clearly reflected in the number of international top and young researchers in the current ranking published by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. At eighth place, Ruperto Carola is among the "Top 10" guest institutions in Germany most frequently chosen by Humboldt fellows. The ranking lists how many Foundation fellows or prizewinners chose to come to Germany over the last five years and where they most frequently spent their research stay. To avoid statistical bias arising from differences in the size of the universities, the rankings relate the number of research stays to the number of professors at the respective institution. In the absolute rankings, Heidelberg University advanced to fourth place, with a total of 182 researchers from abroad.
"Every stay is the result of a decision to select a host and research partner in Germany and makes a statement about the disciplines in which German research is so good that it wins the international contest for the best minds; and about which German scientists and scholars foster particularly intensive international contacts," reports the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Fellows and prizewinners do, after all, choose their own hosts and make their own decisions based on the hosts’ academic performance and international visibility. So "being near the top of the Humboldt Rankings is an important indicator for international contacts and reputation".
Free University of Berlin, Humboldt University of Berlin and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich hold the top three spots in both the weighted and the absolute rankings. In addition to the overall ranking, lists are also generated based on academic areas. Heidelberg University ranks especially high in the Humanities and Social Sciences: it ranks fifth in the weighted and fourth in the absolute ranking. In the Life Sciences, it places second (absolute) and 23rd (weighted). In the Natural Sciences, Heidelberg University ranks sixth (absolute) and 16th (weighted).
