SciDev.Net

The Shanghai Jiao Tong Academic Ranking of World Universities provides rankings compiled each year from 2003 onwards. Universities are ranked using a combination of indicators of academic and research performance such as Nobel Prize winners, highly cited researchers and number of articles published in Nature and Science.

The authors explain how the data is compiled and present summary statistics by region and country, as well as a full list of the top 500 institutions worldwide.

TIMSS is an international study of science and mathematics achievement of schoolchildren carried out in four-year cycles. The purpose of the study is to help developing countries measure the science and maths scores of their students, compare these across participating countries and assess the impact of educational reforms. This achieved by putting in place and streamlining systems and processes to collect standardised academic achievement data. Sixty-one countries are participating in the 2007 study, including 15 Arab countries. The website hosts TIMSS-related documents for the Arab world including regional and country reports of the 2003 study.

The ADEA website provides a forum for policymakers, educators and researchers to discuss education policies in Sub-Saharan Africa. It encourages dialogue and links between African education ministries and external partners through the ADEA secretariat and working group meetings — all activities, materials and presentations are available online.

ADEA publishes articles, books, papers, and reports on the development of education in Africa. It also hosts databases, including contact information for development agencies and African education ministries.

The AAU, based in Accra, promotes consultation, exchange of information and cooperation among higher education institutes in Africa. It provides fellowships and small grants for postgraduate studies and staff exchanges. It also runs programmes to study higher education management and assure the quality of its member institutions. The website gives summaries of all these activities and links to AAU newsletters and publications. It also offers a list of online resources relevant to higher education in Africa.

EdStats, developed by the World Bank, collects data on education from national reports, UNESCO (UN Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development to provide educational statistics for over 200 countries and regions.

It also includes World Bank public expenditure data from 2002 onwards as well as projections of educational attainment and enrolment rates until 2050.

Data can be custom searched but is also available in pre-defined reports by country or topic, for example on the Millennium Development Goals or private education expenditure.

The IAU, established by UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), brings together higher education institutions and organisations from 150 countries worldwide. It publishes information on past conferences and links to key publications, research and policy statements.

Its resources cover topics such as sustainable development, access to higher education and internationalisation. Other information includes an events calendar, relevant links and news from its members.

The INHEA, supported by the Ford Foundation and housed at the Boston College Center for International Higher Eduation, is a network of academics, practitioners and policymakers working in higher education (HE) in Africa.

It publishes news, commentaries and research on key HE issues. It also provides a list of experts and researchers in HE in Africa, and links to organisations active in scholarship and development work. The INHEA's country profiles describe HE practice across Africa and provide data on enrolment and funding.

Knowledge for Development is a web-based source of information on science and technology for agriculture and rural development in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. It promotes collaboration between agricultural research and development scientists and technologists in ACP countries, and facilitates dialogue between ACP and European communities with the aim of strengthening policy formulation on science and technology issues.

This website contains a number of useful documents on biofuels and biotechnology in ACP countries.