The Institution Has Been Ranked by the Webometrics Ranking

By Nadine Ndjomo

We are in the digital age. And universities are adapting to this new reality. Since 2004, the Spanish National Research Council has been ranking the most digital higher education institutions through the Webometrics Ranking. Indeed, this ranking lists university institutions on the basis of their academic presence on the Web and their digital services.

For the 2021 edition, the ranking published at the end of January 2021 places the Senegalese university in 77^th continental position. It is followed by the University of Abomey-Calavi in Benin, 91^st in Africa. Third place is held by the University of Yaoundé I in Cameroon (105^th in Africa). It is the first university in Cameroon to head this “digital” ranking.

In addition to the University of Yaoundé I, the other 4 representatives from Cameroon are: the University of Dschang (107th in Africa), the University of Buea (115th), the University of Maroua (175th) and The University of Ngaoundéré (188th).

The other universities in this top 10 are: the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar (165^th continental), the University Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Côte d’Ivoire and the University of Kinshasa in the DRC, respectively 109^th and 192^nd in Africa.

The aim of this ranking is to promote academic presence on the Web, by supporting open access initiatives to significantly increase the transfer of scientific and cultural knowledge generated by universities.

At the same time, universities that maintain quality standards increase their chances of being better ranked on the international stage. In this respect, Webometrics data has been regarded as a benchmark for improving the online visibility and performance of higher education institutions.

In an increasingly digital world, the online presence of companies and institutions is becoming essential. For universities and other training centres, the benefits are numerous.

It makes it possible to assess reputation in order to encourage the interest of students and investors. In Africa, very few institutions take an interest in this. As a result, they remain less visible than those in other parts of the world.

The Webometrics ranking is published twice a year. It is not a ranking of university websites, but of universities, based on 4 main digital indicators: the sharing of public knowledge, the impact of Web content, researcher citations and published documents.

The 10 most web-present universities in Sub-Saharan Francophone Africa