HSE Tops Ranking of 100 Best Universities in Russia

Forbes has published its eighth annual ranking of the best Russian higher education institutions. HSE University took first place. Its leadership was secured, among other factors, by strong support from employers and high performance in the Academic Environment metric.
The Forbes ranking (see in Russian) includes universities with the best reputation among employers, the most talented students and successful graduates, the strongest presence in international rankings, and a favourable academic environment. HSE ranked first, followed by Moscow State University and the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology in second and third place respectively.
Universities based in Moscow dominate the upper part of the top 100: they occupy 14 positions in the top 20. The top 20 also includes three universities from St Petersburg and one each from Tatarstan, the Novosibirsk region, and the Sverdlovsk region.
Russian higher education institutions were assessed across five key areas: networking quality, employer reputation, international reputation, academic environment, and the ‘Forbes factor’—the number of graduates who go on to appear in the Forbes list of Russian billionaires.
This made it possible for the ranking to take into account the overall academic level of incoming students, the degree of employer confidence in the quality of training provided by universities, global recognition in academic circles, the educational ecosystem, the qualifications of teaching staff, internationalisation, and the financial standing of institutions.
HSE University ranked first in a survey of 200 of Russia’s largest employers. Experts also gave high marks to its educational ecosystem, faculty qualifications, internationalisation, and financial stability.
Nikita Anisimov, Rector of HSE University
‘For us, HSE’s first place in the Forbes university ranking is, above all, evidence of the high regard for the quality of our work among the country’s largest employers. HSE is closely integrated into the labour market, actively applies practice-oriented approaches in its teaching, and maintains strong ties with industry partners. It is also important that we have achieved excellent results in developing our academic environment. A true university is, above all, a space for the development and formation of professionals—a centre of attraction for talent.’
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