Rankings released this fall by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, one of China's largest and oldest universities, ranked UW-Madison 16th in its list of ""Top 500 World Universities.""
The list, compiled to assess which large research universities in the world most threaten Chinese research and progress, took into account institution size, research conduction and publication and education quality.
The only other Midwestern institution that ranked above UW-Madison was the University of Chicago; University of Michigan, University of Illinois, University of Minnesota and Northwestern University ranked 21st, 25th, 32nd and 33rd, respectively.
""The Chinese are trying to replicate what we already have at scale,"" John Austin, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel after presenting research at the Federal Reserve Bank Monday, claiming the Great Lakes region must use its research-rich institutions to enhance regional economy.
Harvard University secured the list's No. 1 ranking, claiming the title of best research institution in the world.
