BHUBANESWAR: Two institutions of higher education in the state, IIT Bhubaneswar and NIT Rourkela, have found place among the top 50 in the country in the first QS India University rankings of 2019. In the list topped by IIT Bombay, IIT Bhubaneswar is 21st, and NIT Rourkela, 27th.QS or Quacquarelli Symonds is an education company acclaimed for publishing the world's most-consulted world university rankings. The firm released its first standalone rankings of Indian universities, including technical, non-technical, public, private universities and deemed-to-be universities on Monday. KIIT University comes within the 61-65 bracket in the list of 75. Following the 50th spot, institutions have been kept in ranges of five spots. KIIT shares the range with Gauhati University, Jawahar Lal Nehru Technological University at Anantapur (Andhra Pradesh), SASTRA University at Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu) and Guru Nanak Dev University at Amritsar (Punjab).The IITBBS and NITR are among 20 institutions which have received full marks in 'Staff with PhD' category which identifies the extent to which institutions cultivate qualified faculty bodies.Other factors used to prepare the scoresheet and rankings include academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty-student ratio, international faculty count, papers per faculty and citations per paper.IITBBS director R V Rajakumar said the 21st all-India position is a respectable place. "It reassures us that we are on the right track. We will strive hard to improve further, which is a continuous process," he said.NITR director Animesh Biswas said the prestigious ranking asserts that NITR as the best NIT in the country. "We are continuously trying hard to improve academically," he added. KIIT vice-chancellor Hrusikesh Mohanty said the recognition will encourage KIIT to strive for further excellence.In QS BRICS University Rankings 2018, published on November 22 last year, NITR was positioned 126th among the top 300 universities of BRICS countries. KIIT University was placed in the 251-300 bracket. IITBBS had not participated in the process then.

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