A school teacher from West Bengal’s Asansol has been selected as one of the top 10 finalists for the Global Teacher Prize 2023, which includes participants from 130 different countries. Deep Narayan Nayak’s innovative teaching methods, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, have had a significant positive impact on underprivileged children. The Global Teacher Prize recognizes exceptional educators with a $1 million award for their outstanding contributions to the field.

Known as the ‘Teacher of the Streets,’ Mr Nayak teaches at the Tilka Manjhi Adivasi Free Primary School in Jamuria, Asansol. During the Covid-19 lockdown, he took education outdoors to bridge the digital divide affecting disadvantaged children living below the poverty line in remote areas. Mr Nayak transformed mud walls into blackboards and roads into classrooms, providing education to those who might otherwise have been left behind.

I’m incredibly grateful and humbled to be chosen as a top 10 finalist for the 2023 Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize, supported by UNESCO and Dubai Cares. Thank you, @varkeyfdn, @UNESCO, and @DubaiCares, for this incredible honor. ?? #GlobalTeacherPrize2023 #Education pic.twitter.com/jMAUh7MtVm

— Deep Narayan Nayak (@DeepNarayanNay2) October 26, 2023

He also made efforts to educate parents, particularly mothers and grandmothers, with the goal of breaking the cycle of illiteracy and improving the prospects of first-generation learners. His teaching techniques have not only increased literacy rates but have also contributed to the eradication of superstitions and the creation of employment opportunities.
 

Mr Nayak has developed programmes to address issues such as malnutrition, child exploitation, and early marriages. His ‘Fantastic Three-Dimensional Model’ has created educational and employment opportunities, and his Mothers’ Football Team promotes sportsmanship, gender equality, and global peace.

His focus on sustainability and environmental awareness not only deters the use of plastic but also encourages tree planting. Moreover, his ‘Teacher at Your Doorstep’ programme has offered guidance to students and their parents, aiming to decrease absenteeism and curb school dropouts.

As per the World University Rankings 2024 by subject, the best institutions for engineering this year continue to be Harvard University and Stanford University from the United States. 

Imperial College London moves into the top 10, taking the tenth spot. The universities of Oxford and Cambridge are the two other UK institutions in this group. 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, Berkeley, California Institute of Technology, Princeton University occupy the third, sixth, seventh and eighth position respectively.  

The top 10 list features six US universities and one from Singapore. The US has five more universities in the top 300 this year compared with last year. 

Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) in South Korea is the highest new entrant, ranking in the 201-250 band. Across the full table, the US, Japan and India are the most-represented nations. 

The ranking highlights the universities that are leading across disciplines such as general engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, mechanical and aerospace engineering, civil engineering, and chemical engineering.  

The table this year includes 1,374 universities, up from 1,306 last year. 

Visit the official website of Times Higher Education to check the complete list of colleges ranked in the Engineering section.  

In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024 by subject, the universities from the US and UK take the number one positions across all 11 of the subject rankings.

The UK’s University of Oxford has claimed the top spot in both clinical and health and computer science and US universities have come first in the other nine subjects including arts and humanities, business and economics, education, engineering, law, life sciences, physical sciences, psychology and social sciences.

Arts and humanities, life sciences and social sciences only have UK and US universities in the top 10 this year.

Harvard University and Stanford University top in the list of three subjects making them the highest scorers. While Harvard University tops engineering, law and life sciences, Stanford tops in arts and humanities, psychology and is jointly topping in social sciences. Massachusetts Institute of Technology topped in business and economics and is a joint top in social sciences.

While this year’s THE World University Rankings by subject shows a greater diversity of universities and countries excelling across the world, these rankings are still dominated by US and UK institutions.

The top positions of the 11 subject rankings show increasing diversity as compared with the World University Rankings 2020 by subject, especially in social sciences, education, business and economics.

The World University Rankings in its 20th edition witnessed the participation of 108 countries and regions. Around 1,904 universities are ranked overall this year which is an increase from 1,799 universities last year.

For this year’s analysis, 16.5 million research papers were examined which is 1 million more than last year. Additionally, 134 million citations have been examined, compared with last year’s 121 million.

Times Higher Education is the global data partner for higher education. The data here is based on five decades of expertise in the sector, millions of individual data points and with the participation of more unique institutions.

The results enable stakeholders in higher education to make smarter, more informed decisions.