There was mixed results in the Times Higher Education world university rankings for 2019 for Irish universities.
The top Irish university, Trinity College Dublin, slipped back marginally from 117th position to 120th. TCD’s marks had actually improved but increased competition had put other institutions ahead.
Two Irish universities actually gained places: UCC moved up into the 301-350 category while Maynooth University rose to the 351-400 category.
NUI Galway fell two categories to 301-350 while the University of Ulster dropped into the 601-800 grouping. Queens, UCD and RCSI all held their 201-250 rankings.
There was some despondency in the commentary over the figures as the rankings for Irish universities appeared to be heading downwards. Some of this is attributed to higher spending on third level institutions across the world and a hangover of underspending in Ireland.
The Government and the Department of Education were anxious to head off the impression of drift saying that the sector had an additional Ä100 in spending while more than Ä2 billon was earmarked in a capital funding programme for the next 10 years.
