The University of Cape Town (UCT) has upheld its position as top university in Africa and now ranks 10th among universities in countries with emerging economies.

UCT Vice-Chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng has welcomed the ranking by the 2021 Times Higher Education (THE) Emerging Economies University Rankings.

For the first time this year, South Africa has six institutions in the top 100.

“This helps demonstrate our continued excellence internationally – despite the particular challenges universities in emerging economies face. We can also be proud of our performance as a country: South Africa has once again shown the strength of its higher education sector, and this is even more remarkable given its relatively modest funding from government,” Phakeng said.

UCT took the 155th position in THE’s 2021 World University Rankings, published in September 2020, which assessed almost 1 500 institutions worldwide.

THE chief knowledge officer Phil Baty acknowledged that new adaptations owing to the coronavirus pandemic have resulted in a number of changes for higher education, with many turning to online learning and teaching, and fewer students travelling internationally.

“We are looking forward to seeing how universities from emerging economies position themselves in the upcoming year and the opportunities they offer both internally and on a global scale,” he explained.