Interfax announces International University Rating for CIS, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia

Interfax Information Services Group has launched a project to create an international ranking service for universities in the CIS, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

The key objectives of this project will be to classify universities in the CIS, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, reflecting the variation and profile of the institutions; increasing the quality and competitiveness of universities in these countries; promoting them in global university ratings and deepening cooperation within the higher education systems in these countries.

The university ranking will use the key methodological approaches of QS World University Rankings, which has compiled its rankings for the last 10 years.

"Macroregional ratings for universities in the CIS, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia will express the strengths and achievements in each of these countries to increase competitiveness between their universities; it will encourage research and education system mechanisms, especially in areas such as the development of student and academic mobility as well as the elimination of barriers to the free exchange of scientific research and knowledge," Interfax Deputy General Director Alexei Gorshkov said.

The ranking methodology considers education, research and international activity.

Education takes into account reputation appraisals from a panel of international academic experts, reputation appraisals from a panel of international employers and recruiters, and quality indicators for a range of academic activities.

Scientific research activity - scientific productivity of the university in the Russian language research space and in the global research space along with the quality of scientific publications according to Russian and international systems.

International activity looks at student mobility in the CIS, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia and in other countries; international cooperation in scientific research with scientists from the CIS, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia and graduates with double diplomas.

The ranking will also gather additional information on university indicators. The international expert panels will also be expanded and upgraded.

Interfax, which has vast experience with Russian national university rankings (www.univer-rating.ru) will later add to and further expand the project.

Interfax Information Services Group is the largest diversified information group in the CIS. It is acknowledged as a leader on the Russian B2B information market.

Interfax offers political and economic news, fundamental and exchange information, professional solutions for risk management, marketing, investor relations and PR. The Group consists of a network of national, regional and sectoral information agencies, working in Russia and throughout the territory of the former Soviet Union. Interfax clients include government structures in Russia and the leading countries of the world, companies and banks, financial market participants and investors, major Russian and international media outlets.

Interfax is the most cited source of information on Russia and the CIS in the foreign press and is one of the most frequently used sources of real-time information in the world.