U-Multirank takes a different approach to the existing global rankings of universities, based on the arrangements of the higher education institutions in the line-up. It offers a possibility to compare the institutions of higher educations, taking into account different aspects, which are important to the relevant users. U-Multirank indicates how universities perform by showing their position for each of thirty-one indicators, grouped according to five criteria: teaching and learning, research, knowledge transfer, international orientation and regional engagement. They evaluated each criterion in five performance groups from "very good" through to "weak".
"Ten highest estimates that VGTU received for the second year in a row is a very good achievement, because only a small part of the institutions of higher education from one-thousand rated high schools all over the world can boast of such good results. All the indicators in the past year assessed as "very good", this year passed the same highest rating. The high settings for the internationalization has risen even more, after evaluation of the increased number of foreign language programmes for Master's degree, as well as that in degree-seeking foreign students at VGTU," - said Asta Radzevičienė, the Vice-Rector for International Relations at VGTU.
More than a half of VGTU indicators (seventeen of thirty-one) were evaluated "very well" or "well". In addition to the regional engagement, the highest positions in the rating of the University take the number of academic publications in the mostly citied publications, the number of spin-off enterprises, split-off from the University, the scientists' contribution to the arts, the financial investment from private and regional partners, Bachelors' studies in the English language, students mobility and income from continuing professional development. This year, as compared to the previous year, VGTU position has risen in the areas of the index of citation, the number of scientific publications, and Master's degree in English.
Last year, the ratings assessed one-thousand-two-hundred institutions of higher education, this year – more than one-thousand-three-hundred institutions of higher education from ninety countries. They evaluated more than three-thousand-two-hundred-fifty faculties and ten-thousand-seven-hundred study programmes, including the social sciences and the humanities for the first time. They collected the information for their ratings from the international bibliometric, patent databases, the institutions of higher education, supporting the ranking initiative, presented the data, and more than one-hundred-five thousand students performed the survey. The European Commission is supporting this ranking.
