Jadavpur University clocks high praise from Stanford list
Twenty-nine scientists from JU are among the top 2 per cent in the world when it comes to the number of papers published, which also gives it the top position among universities in the country. The university VC said the UGC must at least now give it the ‘institute of eminence’ tag, which will also fetch Rs 454 crore over five years from the Union government.
The latest list of the top 2 per cent of scientists of the world from different fields based on their career-long publications and citations names as many as 29 scientists from Jadavpur University (JU) in Kolkata, which is the most among any university in India.
The list, published jointly by experts from Stanford University, USA and the Netherlands-based Elsevier Research Intelligence, was published on October 19 and considers data available till the end of 2020.
Last year, 30 teachers of the university had found a place on the list. This year, JU is followed by Banaras Hindu University (24 scientists), the University of Hyderabad (22) and Delhi University (18).
Among other universities in Bengal, there is Calcutta University with four scientists.
The top place in India with respect to scientists with the most number of publications and citations went to the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru, whose 114 scientists found a place in the list.
Importantly, the number of scientists listed has increased from last year’s list, from 1,900 to 2,042.
The 29 JU teachers are from physics, chemistry, mathematics, power engineering, chemical engineering departments and a few others.
In this backdrop, Vice-chancellor Suranjan Das told the media that since JU scientists “won this honour even though the university is not privileged to get adequate Central funds”, and thus proved the university’s excellence in the field of science and technology, “the UGC must reconsider its recent decision about removing JU from the institutions shortlisted for the institution-of-eminence tag”, a recognition which fetches Central assistance to the tune of Rs 454 crore over five years.
The Bengal Higher Education Department Secretary Manish Jain had earlier this month written to the UGC to “reconsider the decision” to remove JU from the shortlist.
This large database has been created by experts at Stanford University led by Dr John Ioannidis. It is also based on data from Scopus that ranks journals and gives a citation index. The annual list is published in the online journal PLOS Biology.
The scientists to be included are determined by information on the number of citations, H -Index, co-authorship and a composite indicator.
