The institutions in the Times Higher Education Young University Rankings are united by their recent foundation dates; only universities aged 50 years and under are included in the annual list of the world’s top newcomers in higher education. But the stories and circumstances around their creation are very different.

There are institutions that already seem to be such an established part of the global higher education landscape. For example, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore or the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. It’s hard to believe they are only three decades old.

But global shifts are taking place. On the one hand, Asia is becoming a more prominent region in the ranking, with India and Turkey now leading the list in terms of representation. On the other, it is the first time an institution in the continent has not led the ranking since 2017; this spot is taken by one of France’s collegiate universities.

It is willingness to innovate and challenge the status quo that makes the THE ranking of the world’s top young universities something truly worth celebrating.

Also read: The Rankings: THE Top 200