Poland is the top-performing country in a new Times Higher Education analysis of the best research-intensive universities in “EU13” – the 13 nations that have joined the European Union since 2004.
The country takes six spots in the top 30 table, and 32 places in the overall list of 112 institutions, more than any other nation. Poland’s leading institution is the University of Warsaw, in fourth place.
The second-most represented country overall is Romania, with 20 institutions, but just two of these make the top 20, according to the analysis, which was developed for and presented at the THE Europe Universities Summit 2023.
The analysis shows that there is a spread of strong institutions across the region, with no single country dominating the list.
When taking into account the size of a country’s higher education system, Cyprus leads the pack. All three of the nation’s ranked institutions feature among the top 30, led by the University of Cyprus in seventh place.
The analysis uses the same methodology as the THE World University Rankings. But the metric and pillar scores show performance only in relation to other institutions in the EU13, rather than across the world.
Universities in Cyprus score particularly well for international outlook, with an average score of 87.4 out of 100 in this pillar.
Meanwhile, two of Estonia’s three ranked universities are in the top 30 overall, and the country achieves the highest average research score (38 out of 100). The University of Tartu claims second place, while Tallinn University of Technology occupies 12th position.
The Czech Republic’s Charles University takes the number one spot, driven largely by its strong research score, while Hungary’s Semmelweis University is third.
THE’s managing director of data science, David Watkins, said that over the past five years, the performance of universities in these 13 European countries has been improving, particularly in terms of attracting international students and boosting reputation.
He added that the new data analysis “pays more attention to differences in research and teaching metrics, yielding a different view of the universities than is seen in the World University Rankings”.
The EU nations included in the list are: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
tiya.alexander@timeshighereducation.com
Top universities in EU13
| Rank | World University Rank 2023 | Institution | Country | Teaching score | Research score | Citation score | Industry score | International score | Overall score |
| 1 | 501–600 | Charles University | Czech Republic | 72.9 | 84.4 | 50.9 | 37.7 | 65.1 | 68.3 |
| 2 | 201–250 | University of Tartu | Estonia | 41.6 | 57.7 | 94.6 | 58.1 | 66.5 | 64.6 |
| 3 | 201–250 | Semmelweis University | Hungary | 52.1 | 27.3 | 90 | 52.5 | 78.2 | 58 |
| 4 | 801–1,000 | University of Warsaw | Poland | 58.7 | 70 | 43.5 | 39 | 43.5 | 55.9 |
| 5 | 601–800 | Jagiellonian University | Poland | 52.5 | 51.8 | 58 | 38.5 | 41.2 | 52.7 |
| 6 | 351–400 | Wroclaw Medical University | Poland | 41.1 | 14 | 91.1 | 40.1 | 37.7 | 47.7 |
| 7 | 401–500 | University of Cyprus | Cyprus | 28.6 | 33.3 | 68.5 | 82.4 | 85.3 | 47.6 |
| 8 | 601–800 | Eötvös Loránd University | Hungary | 45.6 | 37.5 | 50.8 | 37.4 | 53 | 45.1 |
| 9 | 501–600 | University of Nicosia | Cyprus | 22.3 | 21.6 | 77.4 | 38.1 | 96.6 | 44.6 |
| 10 | 501–600 | Bucharest University of Economic Studies | Romania | 19.5 | 13.5 | 100 | 38.9 | 24.8 | 42.7 |
| 11 | 801–1,000 | Masaryk University | Czech Republic | 35.1 | 51.1 | 34.8 | 39.7 | 67.6 | 42.4 |
| 12 | 601–800 | Tallinn University of Technology | Estonia | 24.4 | 30.4 | 56.3 | 74.8 | 79.1 | 41.1 |
| 13 | 801–1,000 | University of Ljubljana | Slovenia | 32.2 | 37.9 | 48.1 | 51.1 | 48.7 | 40.4 |
| 14 | 601–800 | Riga Stradiņš University | Latvia | 17.7 | 13.1 | 77.3 | 40.1 | 74.1 | 39 |
| 15 | 601–800 | Medical University of Lodz | Poland | 21.5 | 10.9 | 82 | 37.4 | 30.5 | 37.6 |
| 16 | 601–800 | Cyprus University of Technology | Cyprus | 24.4 | 21.7 | 55.1 | 41.7 | 80.3 | 37.4 |
| 17 | 801–1,000 | Vilnius University | Lithuania | 27.6 | 27.9 | 48.4 | 58.9 | 56.5 | 36.9 |
| 18 | 801–1,000 | University of Latvia | Latvia | 20.3 | 36 | 46.3 | 61.7 | 55.7 | 36.5 |
| 19 | 801–1,000 | University of Malta | Malta | 22.1 | 25 | 54.6 | 38.3 | 63.6 | 36.2 |
| 20 | 1,001–1,200 | Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań | Poland | 33.1 | 45.8 | 29 | 42.5 | 34.5 | 36 |
| 21 | 801–1,000 | Lithuanian University of Health Sciences | Lithuania | 21.8 | 11.5 | 62.2 | 38.1 | 59.5 | 34.1 |
| 22 | 801–1,000 | University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice | Czech Republic | 23 | 25.5 | 48 | 37 | 52.1 | 33.8 |
| 23 | 801–1,000 | Iuliu Haţieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca | Romania | 21.9 | 10 | 63.1 | 37.7 | 52.4 | 33.4 |
| 24 | 1,001–1,200 | Comenius University in Bratislava | Slovakia | 29.4 | 24.5 | 40.5 | 37.5 | 54 | 33.3 |
| 25 | 1,001–1,200 | University of Debrecen | Hungary | 40.4 | 20.9 | 30.5 | 49.2 | 60.8 | 33.3 |
| 26 | 1,001–1,200 | Palacký University Olomouc | Czech Republic | 23.1 | 28.6 | 40.9 | 39 | 60.3 | 33.3 |
| 27 | 801–1,000 | Medical University of Gdańsk | Poland | 27.7 | 11.3 | 57 | 37 | 42.2 | 32.9 |
| 28 | 1,001–1,200 | University of Pécs | Hungary | 43 | 19.4 | 27.8 | 41.3 | 56.8 | 32.4 |
| 29 | 1,001–1,200 | Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZU) | Czech Republic | 20.8 | 19 | 43 | 73.9 | 72.3 | 32.1 |
| 30 | 1,001–1,200 | University of Szeged | Hungary | 28.3 | 24.2 | 34 | 43.5 | 61.5 | 31.6 |
