The announcement ceremony was held on the second day of the summit, 30th August.

For the rankings, universities of 16 Eurasian countries were analysed. Russia ended up with the biggest representation, with 6 universities in the top 10. They are Moscow State University (1st), Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (2nd), Tomsk Polytechnic University (3rd), Higher School of Economics (7th), MEPhI (8th), and the hosts Kazan Federal University (10th).

THE Rankings Editorial Director Phil Baty noted, “Kazan Federal University’s position in these rankings reflects its various strong points measured with reliable and independent instruments. Tatarstan is a multicultural and vibrant region ready to capitalize on its existing advantages with special attention to  long-term scientific research and innovation.”

Rector Ilshat Gafurov in his comment said, in particular, “We have strengthened our financial standing, made the university a more attractive employer in comparison with other employment spheres, and improved the conditions for work, studies, and recreation of students and educators.

“Serious shifts have emerged in research output. We have increased the quantity of WoS and Scopus publications eightfold in 5 years. In particular, publications in first and second quartile journals reached 60% overall and 70% in priority areas. During that period, 6 KFU journals have been included in WoS and Scopus databases.”

The next morning, Mr. Baty and his colleagues, Baerbel Eckelmann (THE) and Eleonora Palmaro (Elsevier), elaborated on the Eurasia Rankings, its methodology and main takeaways.

During the summit, Rector Gafurov held a number of meetings with guests, including Phil Baty, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of Russia Marina Borovskaya, EMEA Partnerships Lead at Microsoft Steven Duggan, and others. Preliminary cooperation agreements were reached. As a results, KFU and THE will work together on hosting further such events in Kazan and other big university cities in  the future.