The global analytical agency in the field of higher education Quacquarelli Symonds, which compiles one of the most popular university rankings in the world QS World University Rankings, has decided to stop cooperation with Russian and Belarusian institutions of higher education in connection with the war unleashed against Ukraine.
“We are outraged by the war that Russia is waging against the Ukrainian people. We believe in the power of international education to promote understanding and cooperation, but now we are seeing how university campuses have experienced destruction, and our partners, colleagues and friends have been displaced and affected by a humanitarian catastrophe,” the founder and CEO of the company said in an official statement.
The report notes that in response to the actions of the Russian Federation, the organization is taking a number of measures.
In particular, it supports, through advisory services and mobility programs, in particular through the QS TopUniversities portal, Ukrainian and foreign students and applicants affected by the war.
Also, through various platforms (during summits, through the website and publications), it organizes discussions among the international educational community about the crisis caused by the war and the search for opportunities to support the affected people, and also ceases to cooperate with new clients in the Russian Federation and suspends active interaction with Russian clients, previously collaborated with.
In addition, a decision was made not to include Russian and Belarusian universities in the new university rankings and to stop advertising Russian universities or the Russian Federation as a place to study.
