RIYADH: Saudi universities advanced in the UK Times Higher Education ranking of the best emerging universities in the world, with 12 of the Kingdom’s institutions entering the ranking list in 2022 compared to seven last year. This is an increase of about 70 percent, securing advanced ranks varying between 36 and 400 among the top 400 universities on the list, which includes more than 790 higher education institutions. Fifteen Saudi universities were ranked in the THE classification of the best international universities this year, compared to 10 in 2021, an increase of 50 percent, while 11 universities advanced and improved their ranking. The THE website stated when launching its classification that the Kingdom ranked first in the world, with a 35 percent improvement, in citations for its research outcomes. THE’s ranking methodology is based on evaluating research-intensive universities in all of their primary tasks: Teaching, research, knowledge transfer, and international expectations, with the weightings re-calibrated to reflect the image of the tasks of emerging universities. The ranking adopts 13 calibrated indicators to provide the most comprehensive and balanced comparison and enjoys the confidence of students, academics, university leaders, industry, and governments.