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Chinese universities ranked ahead of Oxbridge, Caltech in quality research output by Nature Index

  • Rankings based on published scientific papers show Chinese institutions overtaking the US and other Western counterparts
  • Sun Yat-sen University overtakes Oxford with 22 per cent more contributions to world research in the past year, rankings show

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Sun Yat-sen University, based in Guangzhou, southern China, was placed 10th on the Nature Index listing based on scientific research output. Photo: Getty Images
Zhang Tongin Beijing
Some universities that are little known outside China are rapidly surpassing their more established counterparts in the West – including Oxford, Cambridge, Princeton and Caltech – in high-quality scientific research, according to the latest Nature Index.

Seven of the top 10 university contributors were from China in the updated list – maintained by the academic journal Nature – that tracks contributions to research articles published in 82 of the world’s most influential natural science journals.

The index was based on scientific research output between February 1, 2022 and January 31, using “simple, transparent and current metrics that demonstrate high quality research and collaboration”, according to Nature.

The top five spots were dominated by large-scale institutions like the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Germany’s Max Plank Society and the French National Centre for Scientific Research, apart from Harvard University, which scored second place.

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Excluding large-scale institutions, Harvard was closely followed by the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). The University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) – which has a close relationship with the CAS – was in third place among university contributors.

Chinese dominance continued down the rankings, with Nanjing University – one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in China – joining hands with Beijing’s renowned Peking University and Tsinghua University to take fourth, fifth and sixth places, respectively.

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