University of Cape Town leads Africa in global university rankings — Daily Maverick
In Cape Town, South Africa, Times Higher Education unveiled the World University Rankings 2027 during the World Academic Summit at the University of Cape Town. The university ranked joint 147th in the world and became Africa’s top higher education institution, Daily Maverick reports.
The University of Cape Town rose from joint 164th place in the previous edition of the rankings. This is its highest position in seven years and its first return to the top 150 since the 2020 rankings.
Positions of South African universities
The University of Pretoria rose from the 501–600 range to the 451–500 group. In total, five South African universities made the global top 500: the University of Cape Town, the University of the Witwatersrand in the 301–325 group, Stellenbosch University in the 326–350 group, the University of Johannesburg in the 351–375 group, and the University of Pretoria.
South Africa is the only country in sub-Saharan Africa whose universities are represented in both the global top 200 and top 500. Eight of the country’s universities entered the top 1,000 of the rankings, while the total number of represented South African institutions rose to 17, four more than last year.
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Walter Sisulu University, Tshwane University of Technology, the University of Venda, and Vaal University of Technology also entered the rankings for the first time, all in the 1801–2000 range. Durban University of Technology moved from the unranked group to the 1201–1400 range.
Artificial intelligence in education
During the summit, participants discussed how universities should adapt curricula and assessments to the spread of artificial intelligence. University of Cape Town Vice-Chancellor Mosa Moshabela said that the institution had decided to teach students to work with AI according to their level of preparation.
According to him, the university also decided to turn off AI detection tools in students’ work. Instead, the institution wants to support students and explain to them how to use such technologies. University of Toronto representative Trevor Young noted that in Canada, students are given access to tools such as Claude AI and ChatGPT, while emphasizing the need to teach their use.
Summit participants also discussed the need for closer cooperation between universities and industry. South African Minister of Higher Education and Training Buti Manamela linked the issue to youth unemployment and said that educational institutions must prepare students for employment.
