International connections explain USP’s good reputation in ranking

Planned growth for research conducted in collaboration with institutions in other countries and the consistent increase in faculty publishing in international scientific magazines are among the main explanations for Universidade de São Paulo’s (USP) improved reputation, according to the university’s Deans of Research and Graduate Studies.

By Fábio de Castro

Agência FAPESP – Planned growth for research conducted in collaboration with institutions in other countries and the consistent increase in faculty publishing in international scientific magazines are among the main explanations for Universidade de São Paulo’s (USP) improved reputation, according to the university’s Deans of Research and Graduate Studies.

USP is among the world’s 70 most respected universities, according to the World Reputation Rankings, released on March 14 and produced by the Times Higher Education (THE) in partnership with Thomson Reuters.

The reputation ranking refers to the recognition of institutions among their peers and is based on surveys of more than 17,000 researchers and academics in 137 countries. The subjective evaluation is one component of the World University Rankings, published annually by THE, that also considers 12 objective criteria.

In the general classification, which considers 400 institutions, USP was ranked in 178th place in 2012. In 2011, USP was in 232nd place. In the reputation ranking, the São Paulo University is the only representative of Latin America among the 100 institutions evaluated in 2012, falling into the 61st to 71st range. In 2011, Latin America did not have a representative in the reputation ranking.

According to USP’s Dean of Graduate Studies, Vahan Agopyan, USP’s climb in the rankings reflects its internationalization efforts over the last few years.

“USP’s decision to increase its international exchange was fundamental for this recognition. But it is important to highlight that internationalization, in our view, means affording an international environment for the work of our students and professors. The increased mobility of students and lecturers is a consequence of this internationalization and not the end. Internationalization also implies international exposure for the institution, and to this end, it must guarantee international quality standards,” explained Agopyan in an interview with Agência FAPESP

The creation of an international graduate program in Biotechnology involving USP, Rutgers University and Ohio State University, both in the United States, was cited by Agopyan as an example of an initiative that can create an international environment. The program selected its first students at the beginning of 2012, under the auspices of USP’s Luiz de Queiroz Agriculture School (Esalq – USP).

“Another example in the graduate area was proposing a doctorate in Nursing, involving USP and Chile’s Catholic University. The course should begin in August under the auspices of USP’s Nursing School. Now we are studying the creation of a doctorate in a Euro-Brazilian network,” said Agopyan, who is also a member of FAPESP Board of Trustees.

Although THE’s reputation ranking does not involve objective criteria, such as the number of scientific publications and investment in research, Agopyan emphasized that the evaluation of reputations has fundamental importance.

“The ranking refers to the reputation of institutions among their peers. For world-class institutions, recognition by their peers is an important factor, because with it, they can obtain the required exchanges and better faculty and students, all of which are imperative for successful research and learning. This recognition induces an increase in our capacity to attract talent,” he affirmed.

Agopyan also highlighted FAPESP’s role in USP’s internationalization process, which, he suggests, has reflected positively on the university’s reputation. USP is the university with the most scientists participating in international cooperative, projects and research funded by FAPESP.

“FAPESP’s role is even greater than these initiatives. The guarantee of continuous research funding is what has allowed all universities in São Paulo – state, federal and private – to stand out. It is a model foundation by international standards. Undoubtedly, FAPESP’s international agreements compliment this unprecedented support,” Agopyan said.

No surprises

Marco Antonio Zago, Dean of Research at USP, affirms that USP’s entry to the club of the world’s 70 most reputable universities had been expected in the academic community. According to himZago, the university’s position has been improving significantly in every ranking over the last few years.

“The fact that it figures among the most reputable universities reflects what we observe when we visit other universities and talk with foreign researchers. USP is seen as a partner and no longer as an institution that turns to developed countries to seek help. This is so perceptible that the university’s position in the ranking, although unprecedented, was in no way unexpected,” said Zago.

According to Zago, USP has a long tradition of valuing excellence – an indispensable condition for ascension in an academic career – and it selects its students well. These are some of the factors that Zago suggests, contribute to the institution’s good reputation. The main factor, however, is the internationalization process.

“USP has maintained a significant volume of publication in international periodicals of excellence, which has weighed significantly on its reputation. Investing in internationalization does not mean promoting large- scale exchanges among students, but conducting cooperative research and publishing in international magazines. FAPESP has a central role in increasing international cooperation,” said Zago.

USP’s growing number of publications can be verified in the ranking released annually by SCImago Institutions Ranking (SIR). In the 2010 edition of SIR, USP was the 19th- ranked university with the most publications worldwide. USP had almost 38,000 articles published, more than double the second- place university in Latin America, Universidad Autônoma do México. The data spanned the activities of more than 600 universities in the 2003-2008 period.

In the 2010 SIR, USP leapt to 13th place based on data for the 2003-2009 period, with more than 40,000 publications. The ranking shows that more than 25% of the articles published were produced through international collaboration.

According to Zago, the university’s improvement in THE criteria may also have contributed to USP’s ascension in the reputation ranking, which considers regional peculiarities.

“They seek to continuously perfect their method, making the study more balanced among the regions. We certainly realized that there were distortions. But we cannot say that this modification of the criteria was crucial for USP’s results because in the reputation ranking, there is only one Chinese university and no Indian, Russian or South African universities,” he said.

Brazil’s economic prosperity, which increased the country’s prominence, may have also contributed to USP’s performance in the reputation ranking. “The fact that Brazil is more prominent has contributed, but if it were that decisive, it would have impacted the reputation of other Brazilian universities besides USP,” explained Zago.