Palacký University Olomouc is ranked 601st–800th in the prestigious international ranking of universities THE World University Rankings 2021. UP has thus confirmed its position from previous years. In the domestic comparison, UP shares second place with Masaryk University in Brno; domestic leader Charles University in Prague occupies the 401st–500th positions once again.
In five monitored areas, UP performed best in the International Outlook category, where it finished in 432nd place.
“This year, we have so far managed to maintain last year’s positions in all monitored rankings, including the THE rankings. Without overestimating the importance of these results, which should be viewed in a broader context, this indicates a certain trend of stabilisation of our performance, for which our employees deserve thanks again. What I find positive compared to last year is the improvement in research productivity and income from science and research, which are important parameters for us, given that in the future we are forced to look for ways to be more independent, especially in relation to European subsidy programmes,” said Hana Marešová, Vice-Rector for Strategic Planning and Quality.
The oldest Moravian university is making its sixth appearance in the evaluation. In this year’s edition, along with Charles University and Masaryk University, it has maintained its positions in global and domestic comparison. Czech higher education is represented by 18 universities in the THE rankings; the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice has also managed to be included among the one thousand best universities in the world.
The indicators monitored by THE World University Rankings are divided into five areas: International Outlook, Citations, Teaching, Research, and Industry Income. UP has improved its position in the Research category compared to the previous year, as it leaped from 681st to 572nd position, and defended the third position in the Czech Republic after Charles University and Masaryk University.
Traditionally, UP has high standings in Citations, with a score of 49.5 points compared to 46.9 last year. Among Czech universities, only Charles University had a better result (56.3 pts). For example, the University of South Bohemia scored 40.4 points and Masaryk University 33.9 points. The rest of domestic universities did not even reach 30 points.
The rankings, which are one of the three most recognized global rankings of universities and higher education institutions, have been published by the British newspaper Times Higher Education since 2010. The THE rankings are dominated by the University of Oxford, followed by Stanford University and Harvard University. For example, neighbouring Poland is represented by nineteen universities, Slovakia by six, Hungary by nine, and Germany by 48. More detailed information is available here.