Oman's Sultan Qaboos University among top five GCC national educational institutions

Muscat: An internationally renowned research ranking group has placed Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in the top five for the whole of the GCC and boosted its ranking internationally.
SQU is now sitting in 580th position among 5,147 universities globally, according to the latest 2016 edition of the ‘Scimago Institution Rankings’ by Scimago Lab.
The rankings measure research output of universities around the world. This year, 5,147 universities and research centres were included in the rankings and the SQU was placed at 580th position.
The 5,147 institutions included in the rankings were chosen from around 20,000 universities and research centres from around the world.
The SQU has been consistently rising in the rankings since 2009 and has reached a position of 580 in the world which puts it among the top 3 per cent in the world.
The SQU is also ranked number five among the GCC national universities, following close after the top four universities of neighbouring Saudi Arabia.
“We observe that the two rankings give a different position to the SQU. The reason for that is they are evaluating two different ways. For this reason it is absolutely crucial that rankings are carefully observed and understood,” the university said in a statement.
Since 2014, The Ranking Committee of SQU is responsible for overseeing the matters related to ranking of SQU.
“The SQU takes take pride in this achievement and especially at the constant progress of SQU over a period of eight years. It gives us great satisfaction that our policies are paying off and this is elevating the position in the international higher education arena,” Dr Ali Al Bemani, Vice Chancellor of SQU, said.
Dr. Mona the Asst. Vice Chancellor for International Relations added: “We have seen an incredible increase in the international outlook of SQU especially in the area of research with international collaboration. To give you an idea, SQU today has scientific collaboration with 118 countries around the globe. This brings strength, quality, and international exposure to the institution”.