KUHes breaks into Africa’s top 40 universities in its maiden World University Rankings appearance

* Ranks 39th on the continent and 9th in the Southern African Region and placed in the 1,201-1,400 in the global universities ranking band

* An edition that covers 2,297 universities across 118 countries across the globe

By Duncan Mlanjira

Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHes) has broken into Africa’s top 40 universities in its maiden appearance of the prestigious Times Higher Education (T.H.E.) World University Rankings.

KUHeS Media platform reports that in the 2027 ranking, the University has been placed on 39th on the continent and 9th in the Southern African Region.

It has been placed in the 1,201–1,400 in the global universities ranking band, an edition that covers 2,297 universities across 118 countries globally.

KUHeS reports that T.H.E. assesses institutions on teaching, research, international outlook and engagement with industry.

“For the first time, Albania and Malawi appeared in the rankings, with the University of Tirana and Kamuzu University of Health Sciences joining the list.

“In total, 2,297 universities from 118 countries and territories feature in the 2027 rankings,” reads part of the information on T.H.E. website.

“KUHeS recorded an overall score in the 30.5-33.2 range. Its individual pillar scores were 22.3 for teaching, 24.3 for research environment, 41.8 for research quality, 30.8 for industry and 58.3 for international outlook.”

The University further reports that the 58.3 score for international outlook “is one of the notable features of its ranking profile which reflects the institution’s ability to connect with the wider global academic community”.

“For KUHeS, this is particularly significant as it establishes itself as a regional and international centre of excellence for health sciences education, research and innovation.”

On recorded a 41.8 score for research quality, KUHeS states that the performance “reflects the strength, output and impact of its research, demonstrating the growing contribution of KUHeS research to the wider academic and health sciences community”.

KUHeS is ranked alongside a number of established African universities, including Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology in Ghana, Mekelle University in Ethiopia, Mohammed V University of Rabat in Morocco, Osun State University in Nigeria and Durban University of Technology in South Africa, among others.

KUHeS Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Macpherson Mallewa described the ranking as a significant achievement further, saying the ranking “should be viewed not simply as an accolade, but as an opportunity for the university to build on its achievements and strengthen its contribution to research, teaching and healthcare in Malawi and beyond”.

“The individual scores show that KUHeS has areas of relative strength, particularly in international outlook and research quality, while teaching and the research environment remain important areas for continued institutional development,” he is quoted as saying on it media platform.

“KUHeS, will continue to build on its first appearance in the global rankings and translate the recognition into sustained improvements in research output, teaching quality, international collaboration and engagement with industry and other partners. 

“KUHeS’ performance demonstrates that a specialised institution can establish a measurable presence within a continental ranking system that evaluates universities across several institutional functions.”