The Webometrics Ranking of World Universities by Reference Citations announced the results of its July 2024 edition, which showed the inclusion of 51 Egyptian universities among the best international universities included in the ranking. The ranking is based on universities’ websites and the rate of citations to internationally published research, relying on Google Scholar for research citations.
The July ranking edition witnessed a new increase in the number of universities compared to the January 2024 edition, and Egyptian universities achieved a remarkable increase in the number of reference citations for each university compared to their results in the same ranking in its last edition.
The ranking results showed that Mansoura University topped the list of Egyptian universities included in the ranking and came in (636) globally with a number of citations amounting to (703287), followed by Cairo University in (662) globally, with a number of citations amounting to (663992), followed by Zagazig University, which came in (686) globally with a number of citations (626386), then Ain Shams University, in (718) globally, with a number of citations (583611), followed by Assiut University in (772) globally, with a number of citations (521899), then Alexandria University in (800) globally, with a number of citations (487426), then Tanta University in (862) globally with a number of citations (424255), then Beni Suef University in (988) with a number of citations (336689), then Benha University in (1087) globally, with a number of citations (282420), followed by Al-Azhar University in (1117) globally, with a number of citations (265502).
The ranking also included in distinguished positions: Monofia University, Kafr El-Sheikh University, the American University in Cairo, Helwan University, Suez Canal University, Minya University, South Valley University, Port Said University, the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, and Damietta University.
The ranking also witnessed the inclusion of Fayoum University, Aswan University, Sadat City University, Future University, the German University in Cairo, the British University in Cairo, the Egyptian Japanese University for Science and Technology, Egypt University for Science and Technology, 6th of October University for Modern Sciences and Arts, 6th of October University, Zewail City of Science and Technology, Delta University for Science and Technology, Nile University, Pharos University in Alexandria, King Salman International University, Suez University, Egypt International University, Egyptian Russian University, Military Technical College, Sinai University, New Valley University, Daraya University, Badr University, Jalala University, Nahda University, the Higher Technological Institute, the Modern University for Technology and Information, Al-Arish University, Horus University, the Canadian Ahram University, Heliopolis University.
Abeer El-Shater, Assistant Minister for Technical Affairs and Supervisor of the Knowledge Bank, stressed the importance of the role of the Egyptian Knowledge Bank in providing the vast amount of scientific resources needed by Egyptian researchers, scientists and decision-makers; in order to enhance scientific research in Egypt, and enable research institutions to become internationally known as a reference for scientific research, in addition to contributing to the advancement of the classification of universities, institutions and research centers internationally, in line with Egypt’s vision for sustainable development 2030, which aims to make education and training available to create a generation of young people capable of making a leap in all fields in Egypt.
Abeer El-Shater explained that the Webometrics ranking is an initiative of the Cybermetrics Lab, which is affiliated with the CSIC, which is one of the most important research bodies in Spain.
The ranking is the largest in terms of the number of higher education institutions that are analyzed in preparation for participation, explaining that the methodology in the Webometrics ranking is based on the total of both common knowledge from the Ahrefs Majestic source (50%), as well as the impact of the content of the university’s website, and the number of highly cited researchers in the Google Scholar database (10%) and the number of articles included in the top 10% of citations in the Scimago database during the five years prior to the year preceding the year of the census (40%).
Adel Abdel Ghaffar, the media advisor and official spokesperson for the Ministry, explained that the Spanish Webometrics ranking of reference citations is based on universities’ websites and the rate of citations to internationally published research, relying on Google Scholar for research citations.
The Ministry’s spokesperson affirmed that the advancement of Egyptian universities in global ranking indicators is attributed to scientific research policies and increased funding, in addition to cooperation with researchers from different countries around the world.
The quality of the joint research has also contributed to the recording of a large number of citations, and consequently, a greater opportunity for publication in high-impact journals.
He pointed out that at Egyptian universities have achieved remarkable progress in their positions in this ranking in a short period of time compared to its version at the beginning of the year “January 2024”, due to an increase in the number of reference citations for each university, in addition to an increase in the number of Egyptian universities included in the ranking.
