Press release · Europe edition
Global Research Partnerships
London, 26 September 2026
Nine countries in continental Europe place a university in the global top 100 of the first Research Collaboration Index. KU Leuven leads the continent at 22nd in the world, and European universities hold four subject world titles.
The inaugural Research Collaboration Index (RCI), which measured 1,195 universities in 81 countries on who actually builds knowledge together, has found Europe's research strength where it has always claimed it lies: in breadth. Outside the United Kingdom, 345 European universities in 33 countries are ranked, and nine countries, from Belgium to Finland, place at least one university in the global top 100.
KU Leuven ranks 22nd in the world, the University of Zurich 23rd, the University of Amsterdam 28th and the University of Copenhagen 30th. Karolinska Institutet, Groningen, Helsinki, ETH Zurich and Lund complete nine continental universities in the global top 50, and 25 sit inside the top 100.
The index is built entirely from open, public data: 26.8 million co-authored research records published between 2021 and 2025. There are no surveys and no submissions. It measures who a university works with, in how many countries, how deep those ties run and how much the joint work is cited.
Four subject rankings are led by a continental European university: Wageningen University and Research in Agricultural and Biological Sciences, KU Leuven in Health Professions, Karolinska Institutet in Immunology and Microbiology, and the University of Bern in Dentistry.
| World | University | Partner institutions | Countries |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | KU Leuven | 1,172 | 80 |
| 23 | University of Zurich | 1,124 | 81 |
| 28 | University of Amsterdam | 1,144 | 80 |
| 30 | University of Copenhagen | 1,159 | 80 |
| 37 | Karolinska Institutet | 1,132 | 81 |
| 39 | University of Groningen | 1,160 | 80 |
| 47 | University of Helsinki | 1,160 | 80 |
| 48 | ETH Zurich | 1,135 | 79 |
| 50 | Lund University | 1,153 | 81 |
| 51 | Université Paris Cité | 1,169 | 80 |
| 52 | Technical University of Munich | 1,165 | 80 |
| 55 | Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München | 1,150 | 80 |
| 57 | University of Oslo | 1,135 | 81 |
| 58 | Utrecht University | 1,152 | 79 |
| 60 | Radboud University Nijmegen | 1,131 | 81 |
The Netherlands is the standout. Dutch universities hold 13 subject top ten places, the most of any continental country, followed by Sweden with 12 and Switzerland with 10. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam ranks second in the world in Psychology, the University of Amsterdam second in Arts and Humanities, the University of Copenhagen second in Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, and the University of Tübingen second in Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics.
In Ireland, Trinity College Dublin ranks 124th in the world and University College Dublin 136th.
Europe has built the most deliberately collaborative research system in the world, and this index shows it working: not one dominant country, but nine with universities in the global top 100 and world leaders from Wageningen to Bern. That breadth is the continent's real advantage.
Daniel Llewellin, Strategic Partnerships Director, Global Research Partnerships
What has followed publication is unusual for a first edition ranking. Universities have announced their own positions, in their own words, without being asked to.
Comenius University announced that its psychology ranks 320th in the world, with more than 14,700 jointly published works and a partnership network covering 916 universities in 75 countries.
This means the university acts as a connecting link between research teams and communities from different parts of the world that would not otherwise meet without its participation.
Eva Kopecká, University spokeswoman, Comenius University Bratislava (translated from slovak) Read the TASR report (in Slovak)
The University of Amsterdam, leading the Netherlands at 28th in the world, announced that its chemistry research ranks 35th worldwide, with 509 joint works and 274 collaborating institutions across 40 partner countries, and that its Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences rank second and third in the world in their disciplines.
I'm happy to see that our efforts to stimulate collaborations are recognized in this index
Professor Bas de Bruin, Scientific Director, Van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam Read the announcement
In Poland, the University of Warsaw published its results in English and Polish, with Physics and Astronomy its strongest field at 122nd in the world. Read the University of Warsaw's announcement
The Medical University of Warsaw announced that it leads Poland's medical universities in the index's health sciences domain. Read the announcement (in Polish)
Since the index went live, universities in several countries have announced their results in their own words.
These collaborations are vital to delivering outstanding research and so I am incredibly proud that Queen Mary has been ranked 25th in the world for our research collaborations.
Professor Colin Bailey CBE, President, Queen Mary University of London Read the announcement
These results reinforce UEA's reputation as a research powerhouse, particularly in fields linked to food security, climate science, health, the arts, biodiversity and environmental change.
Professor Julian Blow, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation, University of East Anglia Read the announcement
The biggest challenges facing society cannot be solved by any one institution, discipline or country acting alone. This analysis highlights the strength of Nottingham's global research partnerships and our ability to connect expertise, ideas and communities around the world.
Professor Tom Rodden, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange, University of Nottingham
Alongside the institutional rankings, the index named 26 Subject Award winners: individual academics, not universities, chosen for the collaborations their work anchors. Five are based in continental Europe.
Universities in Poland and Slovakia were among the first anywhere to publish their own results. Every university's full profile, partner list and subject positions are free to read at globalresearchpartnerships.com/rci.
The Research Collaboration Index is computed from the open global scholarly record for 2021 to 2025, 26.8 million co-authored research records across 1,195 universities in 81 countries, fractionally counted so that no output is double credited. Six pillars are scored: network influence, partner reach, partner country diversity, citation impact of joint work, sustained deep partnerships and international intensity. Subject indices rerun the same pillars within each of 26 fields. There are no surveys, no submissions and no votes, and the full methodology is published at globalresearchpartnerships.com/rci/methodology. The index is free, public and independent: no commercial relationship changes any position.
Global Research Partnerships is an independent research intelligence company based in London. The full results, all 26 subject rankings and every Subject Award citation are public at globalresearchpartnerships.com/rci. The index measures research collaboration standing, not reputation, teaching or overall quality. Data sources: the open scholarly record (OpenAlex) for publication and co-authorship data, with funding verified against funders' own award records, including the European Commission (CORDIS), the US National Institutes of Health and the Crossref Funder Registry. Data to June 2026. Photographs of the Subject Award winners and interview access are available on request.
Media contact: Daniel Llewellin, Global Research Partnerships, daniel@globalresearchpartnerships.com, globalresearchpartnerships.com/press
ENDS
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