Global University Rankings 2023: A Comparative Analysis

Project Objective:

In order to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date understanding of the leading universities in the world, this project aims to collect information on the top-ranked universities in 2023 by utilizing the QS world university rankings as the primary data source. This will involve web scraping the ranking data to gather information on various indicators of university performance, such as academic reputation, faculty and research achievements, and student success. The gathered data will be used to gain insights into the current state of higher education and to identify key trends and patterns in the field. Additionally, the resulting data will be provided in an easily accessible format to serve as a valuable resource for students, parents, educators, and researchers to make informed decisions about higher education.

Methodology:

1. Data collection from QS World University Ranking using the Selenium web scraping framework.
2. Data processing, which includes tasks such as data merging, splitting, cleaning, and formatting to ensure consistency and accuracy.
3. Data visualization and analysis using Tableau Software, a powerful tool for creating interactive data visualizations and dashboards.
4. Identification of meaningful insights and patterns from the Tableau Dashboard, utilizing advanced analytical techniques to uncover key findings and trends.

Visualization and Analysis: Dashboard

The dashboard contains the following analysis:
1. Ranking the Elite: A Comparative Analysis of the Leading Countries for High-Quality Higher Education.
2. Global Higher Education Landscape: A Comparative Analysis of Regional Variations in Quality and Reputation.
3. Reputation Matters: A Comparison of Academic and Employer Reputation of Universities Worldwide.
4. Leading the Research Race: An Analysis of Citations per Faculty Ratio among Universities Worldwide.
5. Small Class, Big Impact: A Comparative Analysis of Faculty-to-Student Ratios among Universities Worldwide.

Observations and Findings:

1. In 2023, the United States is considered the top country for higher education, followed by the United Kingdom, China, Australia, Germany, and Canada.
2. In South America, Argentina is the leading country for higher education, closely followed by Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, and Peru.
3. Harvard University is globally recognized for having the best academic and employer reputation. Universit Paris-Saclay and Institut Polytechnique de Paris in France have exceptional employer reputation, despite having an average academic reputation. These universities are excellent destinations for those seeking job opportunities after completing their degrees while also facing low competition for university entrance.
4. In South America, the Pontifica Universidad Catolica de Chile (UC) in Chile boasts the highest academic and employer reputation, followed closely by the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) in Argentina. The Universidad de los Andres and Universidad Nacional in Colombia have strong employer reputation, however, have an average academic reputation.
5. Princeton University, MIT, Caltech, and Harvard University in the USA, the Indian Institute of Science in India, and GIST in South Korea are considered to be among the leading universities in research worldwide.
6. In South America, the Pontifica Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and the Pontifica Universidad Catolica de Chile (UC) in Chile have the most advanced research facilities.
7. Among the best universities worldwide (with an overall score greater than 90), ETH Zurich in Switzerland has the lowest Faculty to Student ratio.

Build from sources:

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/Naosher98/Global-University-Rankings-2023-A-Comparative-Analysings-2023.git

2. Initialize and activate a virtual environment:

virtualenv --no-site-packages  venv
source venv/bin/activate

3. Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Download Chrome WebDriver from https://chromedriver.chromium.org/downloads
5. Run the qs_ranking_scraper script:

python Web scraper\qs_ranking_scraper.py --chromedriver_path <path_to_chromedriver>

6. Run the qs_university_info_parser script:

python Web scraper\qs_university_info_parser.py --chromedriver_path <path_to_chromedriver>

7. Run all cells of the Data_Processing notebook. This will generate a file named "QS World University Rankings 2023 modified.csv" containing all the required fields. Alternatively, you can access the scraped data at "QS World University Rankings 2023 modified.csv".