POSTECH was ranked number one in the first Times Higher Education ranking of the 100 best universities under the age of 50, proving itself as a world class university once again. Released on May 31, the rankings objectively re-evaluated young universities that have been founded within 50 years, free from traditionally highly reputable institutions.
There are several points to be noticed, one of which is that technical institutions form the majority at the top. This is observed because of their direct economic ties to industries. The second thing to notice is that East Asian universities are challenging the western higher education powerhouses of the US and UK. Besides them, Australia(14), Taiwan(5), Hong Kong(4), Korea(2), and other East Asian countries have added their universities in the rankings.
THE 100 under 50 rankings uses the same categories as the THE World University Rankings, but with differently weighted indicators. One key change is due to the reduced dependence on the academic reputation as suggested by the platform group that consists of more than 50 expert advisers from around the world. They pointed out the fact that older institutions have factors such as wider and more established alumni networks that tend to contribute to rather generous reputations. For this reason, two indicators in the Research and Teaching categories are weighted less, while the other eleven indicators are weighted either the same or more.
Compared to most universities, POST- ECH showed superiority in Teaching, Research, Citations, and Income from Industry categories. POSTECH still has a long way to go in the International Mix category, but its dominance in other areas was more than enough to give it the place of number one in the world.
It is noteworthy that a small-sized university - with just 270 faculty members and only 320 undergraduates admitted a year   - that had only been founded 26 years ago was able to scale extraordinary heights in a remarkably short time. “The programs allow future scientists and engineers to develop their own idea, pursue it, experience successes and frustration, and understand what real research is like,” emphasized President Yongmin Kim regarding its astonishing success.
Just because these universities have ranked in the 100 under 50 rankings, does not mean they were not recognized in the overall World University Rankings. Following POSTECH, which was ranked 53, Switzerland’s Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne(46), the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology(62), the University of California, Irvine(86), and KAIST(94) have joined the overall World University Rankings as well.
The 100 under 50 rankings provide a sense of perspective of what future dynamics of higher education, even though only 19 managed to appear in the overall World University Rankings. Prestige universities such as Harvard and Berkeley once upon a time were young and inferior to Cambridge. The institutions ranked in 100 under 50 could do the same in a few decades.
The world university rankings have consistently proved that POSTECH has set sail to a correct seaway. All it needs to do is to keep doing what it’s doing.