HU ranked 2nd best school to work in outside US

'The Scientist' slots Hebrew University of Jerusalem at number 9 worldwide; HU only institution named in top 25.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
Hebrew University, Jerusalem_311 (photo credit: Thinkstock/Imagebank)
Hebrew University, Jerusalem_311
(photo credit: Thinkstock/Imagebank)
Universities are ranked not only on the level of their research and the size of their student bodies and faculties, but also according to whether they are a good place to work. Now The Scientist magazine’s 10th annual Best Places to Work in Academia survey has placed the Hebrew University of Jerusalem at No. 2 outside the US.
HU was the only Israeli institution included among the top 25, and the magazine ranked it the ninth-best place to work in academia worldwide.
For the past 10 years, The Scientist’s Best Places to Work in Academia surveys have asked academic researchers to highlight the aspects of work they value the most, as well as areas in which they wish their institutions would improve.
More than 1,000 full-time life scientists working in academic or non-commercial research institutions responded to this year’s survey. The full survey results and methodology are detailed in the magazine’s August issue and on its web site.
HU president Prof. Menahem Ben-Sasson welcomed the ranking.
“I thank the members of the academic community, because of whom we find ourselves perpetually ranked among the world’s leading universities,” he said.
“This demonstrates that a community in which it is pleasant to work is also one in which one sees outstanding academic achievements. It is because of the sense of partnership and responsibility of all of our staff that we continually achieve this leading academic ranking. I congratulate my colleagues on this external recognition of their achievements here at home.”
The Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (CeMM) took first place outside the US. The J. David Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco, California came in first place overall.
HU, which has more than 23,000 students from over 65 countries, carries out 40 percent of the country’s civilian research.