UIB slips in the Shanghai Ranking: island university in 701–800 — causes and ways forward

UIB slips in the international ranking — now what?

Yesterday afternoon, when the heat still hung like a thick curtain over the Plaça des Campus and students sat on the steps with cold coffees, the news trickled in: the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) is placed in the 701–800 range in the Shanghai Ranking 2025. Not a catastrophe, but a decline compared to the previous year. The central question is: why did the UIB fall — and what does that concretely mean for the island?

The raw numbers and their limits

The Shanghai Ranking primarily weights research success: publications in top journals, citations, Nobel Prizes or highly cited researchers. This favors large, research-intensive universities with extensive libraries, many labs and broad collaborations. For an island university with limited resources, specific research focuses and strong regional ties, this framework is tricky. The UIB falls into a broad band — 701–800 says more about relatively smaller point gains than about the quality of teaching.

Why exactly did the UIB slip?

Several, partly overlooked factors combine: limited staffing resources, high teaching obligations in small faculties, a low number of large projects, language and visibility issues (many papers appear in Spanish or Catalan or in specialist journals with lower visibility) as well as the difficulty of maintaining many international collaborations in an island system. Structural issues add to this: seasonal economy, high housing costs in Palma and limited budgets for start-up packages that could attract external top talent.

What is rarely discussed?

Often missing is the debate about internal incentives: why don't researchers at the UIB publish more often in English-language top journals? Is it due to lacking support (e.g. language editing, editorial or open-access funding) or high administrative barriers to external funding applications? The teaching factor is also underestimated: lecturers at smaller universities often carry heavier teaching and examination loads, which reduces research time. And finally: rankings do not measure regional impact — for example how research improves local water supply, tourism or marine science.

Concrete levers — short, medium and long term

A ranking is not an end in itself, but it matters. Here are some realistic measures that the UIB and policymakers could tackle now:

1. Short term (1 year): Set up a central research support team — fund English editing, open-access fees and targeted visibility work. Fast-track funds for smaller, publication-ready projects.

2. Medium term (2–3 years): Create thematic research clusters (e.g. marine research, sustainable tourism, renewable energies) that bring together researchers from different disciplines and external partners. Build co-supervision programs with mainland universities and international institutions.

3. Long term (3–7 years): Attractive recruitment programs: start-up packages for postdocs, housing subsidies, reduced teaching loads in the first years, sabbaticals to strengthen international publications. Intensive networking with the regional economy — practice-oriented research creates publications and third-party funding.

Role of politics and society

The Balearic government and local foundations should strengthen the UIB in a targeted way: more base research funding, better infrastructure (laboratory spaces, data centers) and programs against brain drain. At the same time, a shift in thinking is needed: rankings are a signal, but not the only measure. Measures should therefore pursue two goals — visible point gains in rankings and real added value for Mallorca: jobs, climate resilience, clean seas.

What students and staff feel on site

On campus one hears less alarm than pragmatic unease: “It's a shame, we work well,” says a lecturer while palms cast shadows on the paths in the late light. For students, what matters is what is offered on site: supervision, practical relevance, contacts with industry. The UIB must not lose sight of these strengths — they are often why graduates stay on Mallorca and help shape the island.

Conclusion: The slide in the Shanghai Ranking is not the end of the world, but it is a wake-up call. The UIB must become more visible and strategic — through professional research support, targeted cluster formation, better incentives for international publications and political backing. This is not a sprint, but a solid long-distance project. And while the cafés in Palma fill up again and the bells ring in the evening, one thing remains certain at the UIB: research and teaching continue, and with a clearer agenda, better rankings should be within reach.