How IIT Delhi pulled off India's fastest QS climb - a 27-place leap to the top
The QS World University Rankings 2026 were released today and 54 Indian institutes featured on the list. This year, QS evaluated approximately 8,467 institutions globally but only 1,501 made it into the final 2026 rankings list.WHAT DROVE THE QS RANKING SURGE?The biggest push came from strong performance in two major QS metrics: employer reputation and citations per faculty.Employer reputation simply means how well employers across the world rate an institute's graduates. Citations per faculty shows how often the research work by faculty is used or quoted by other researchers worldwide.advertisementProf Buwa explained: 'Improvements in academic and employer reputation, citations per faculty which is an indicator of high-quality cutting edge research undertaken by IIT Delhi faculty members and students, strong international research network and improvements in sustainability rankings.'Much of this is backed by robust research infrastructure. 'With the support for the Government through the Ministry of Education, in particularly, the Institute of Eminence (IoE) Scheme, IIT Delhi has set up high-end research facilities,' he said.The institute gets Rs 300-400 crore every year through sponsored R&D projects -- and some of them are truly gamechanging.Projects like the Affordable Ventilator Initiative during COVID-19, the Smart Campus Energy Management System, the Drone-based agricultural solutions project, and TRDC's regional air quality monitoring tech have not only served the nation but gained international attention.IIT Delhi has also contributed to space-grade electronics for ISRO missions and AI-driven water conservation tools.
ALUMNI WHO KEEP GIVING BACKIIT Delhi's alumni spread across top global firms, tech startups, and research labs have become central to its brand worldwide.advertisement'There are about 64,000 alumni of IIT Delhi who are working in different sectors in India as well as across the globe, and have significantly contributed to research, technology development, successful startups/unicorns, and many other areas,' Prof Buwa said.Their contributions include major donations. The School of Artificial Intelligence was launched in 2020 with a Rs 25 crore donation from alumni, and the Bharti School of Telecommunication was set up in 2000 with Rs 100 crore funding from Sunil Bharti Mittal and Bharti Enterprises.GOING GLOBAL: FROM JOINT PHDs TO ABU DHABIIIT Delhi isn't just stopping here. The institute is actively pushing global connections.'IIT Delhi has already started joint degree program (at PhD level), the institute is working on joint master's degree programs,' said Prof Buwa.It already offers joint PhD programmes with the University of Queensland (Australia), National Chiao Tung University (Taiwan), and the University of Waterloo (Canada) — launched over the last 5–7 years. More are in the works, alongside a drive to enrol international students.Meanwhile, the IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi campus, launched in 2024, is set to offer undergraduate and postgraduate programmes tailored for international students.FUTURE PLANS'IIT Delhi has a strong potential to improve its ranking further and be in top 100 world universities in near future,' said Prof Buwa.With the momentum it's building -- global research, real-world projects, and powerful alumni — the top 100 might just be within reach.Must Watch
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