According to QS, the rise of IIT Delhi has been driven by significant gains in employer reputation, research impact and graduate employability. (File image)For the second year running, IIT Delhi has emerged as India’s highest-ranked institution in the QS World University Rankings, having climbed five places over last year to 118 rank globally, and widening its lead over IIT Bombay, which has slipped to rank 134.The 2027 rank for IIT Delhi is the highest ever achieved by an Indian university, bettering the performance of IIT Bombay in 2025, and caps a remarkable four-year climb of 79 places from 197th in the QS 2024 rankings.According to QS, the rise of IIT Delhi has been driven by significant gains in employer reputation, research impact and graduate employability. The institute has climbed to 39th place globally in Employer Reputation, 60th in Citations per Faculty, and jumped 60 places to rank 280 in Employment Outcomes,” QS Senior Vice President Ben Sowter said. “These two areas are key to IIT-D achieving such an outstanding rank in 2027,” Sowter said.IIT Bombay by contrast declined 25 places in Citations per Faculty, even though it continued to score strongly on employer reputation and academic reputation. But weaker performance on international engagement indicators weighed down its overall ranking.Overall, “Global peers are gaining momentum while institutions across India are improving at a comparatively slower pace,” Sowter said.Administrators at IIT Delhi attributed the improved rank to the fulfilment of broader institutional goals.“Whatever goes on inside the QS algorithm, our job is different,” Somnath Baidya Roy, Dean of Planning at IIT Delhi, told The Indian Express. “We want to be a leader in providing technological education at affordable rates to all our students.”Story continues below this adRoy said the institute remains focused on attracting talent, improving infrastructure, and strengthening research rather than on ranking indicators. “One of the reasons for our success is that we have continued to attract the best students and faculty. We are a preferred destination for students across India,” he said.In the QS World University Rankings by Subject announced earlier this year, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Chemical Engineering and Civil Engineering at IIT Delhi featured among the world’s top 50 programs. IIT Delhi also retained its position as India’s highest-ranked institution in Engineering and Technology with a global rank of 36.Sustainability, an area in which IIT Delhi remains the highest ranked institution in India, has played a key role over the last two years. Last year, sustainability was identified as a reason for IIT Delhi overtaking IIT Bombay. Roy said IIT Delhi had consciously built sustainability into its institutional framework.“A couple of years back, we decided that IIT Delhi was already doing a lot of activities related to sustainability and we needed to emphasise them. At the time, it was not because sustainability was a metric in rankings,” he said.Story continues below this adSustainability efforts emerged from a combination of student demands, institutional priorities, and government regulations, Roy said. “We came up with our sustainability policy and we are acting on our sustainability action plan,” he said.He pointed to green building initiatives, environmental programs and academic units such as Atmospheric Sciences and Civil and Environmental Engineering as examples of the way sustainability had become embedded across the institute.“Most importantly, sustainability is an integral part of our curriculum,” he said.IIT Delhi is also betting on a broader transformation for the coming decade, having begun to implement a revamped curriculum aimed at making education more interdisciplinary while giving students greater flexibility in designing their academic pathways. “We are looking at interdisciplinarity and also giving students more flexibility in terms of designing their own education,” Roy said.Story continues below this adThe revised framework expands opportunities for minors and specialisations and places greater emphasis on internships and engagement with industry and society. “We are now encouraging MTech students to take up internships under the new curriculum,” he said.The institute’s Vision 2035 roadmap will guide infrastructure development, laboratory upgrades and internationalisation efforts. “We are also emphasising globalisation,” Roy said. “More international students are coming as exchange students.”At the end though, IIT Delhi remains about its students, Roy said. “Our students are getting top jobs in academia, research, and industry. Our alumni are doing extremely well. Our product is our students. That’s the story here.”Vidheesha Kuntamalla is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express, based in New Delhi. She is known for her investigative reporting on higher education policy, international student immigration, and academic freedom on university campuses. Her work consistently connects policy decisions with lived realities, foregrounding how administrative actions, political pressure, and global shifts affect students, faculty, and institutions. Professional Profile Core Beat: Vidheesha covers education in Delhi and nationally, reporting on major public institutions including the University of Delhi (DU), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Jamia Millia Islamia, the IITs, and the IIMs. She also reports extensively on private and government schools in the National Capital Region. Prior to joining The Indian Express, she worked as a freelance journalist in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for over a year, covering politics, rural issues, women-centric issues, and social justice. Specialisation: She has developed a strong niche in reporting on the Indian student diaspora, particularly the challenges faced by Indian students and H-1B holders in the United States. Her work examines how geopolitical shifts, immigration policy changes, and campus politics impact global education mobility. She has also reported widely on: * Mental health crises and student suicides at IITs * Policy responses to campus mental health * Academic freedom and institutional clampdowns at JNU, South Asian University (SAU), and Delhi University * Curriculum and syllabus changes under the National Education Policy Her recent reporting has included deeply reported human stories on policy changes during the Trump administration and their consequences for Indian students and researchers in the US. Reporting Style Vidheesha is recognised for a human-centric approach to policy reporting, combining investigative depth with intimate storytelling. Her work often highlights the anxieties of students and faculty navigating bureaucratic uncertainty, legal precarity, and institutional pressure. She regularly works with court records, internal documents, official data, and disciplinary frameworks to expose structural challenges to academic freedom. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2024 & 2025) 1. Express Investigation Series JNU’s fault lines move from campus to court: University fights students and faculty (November 2025) An Indian Express investigation found that since 2011, JNU has appeared in over 600 cases before the Delhi High Court, filed by the administration, faculty, staff, students, and contractual workers across the tenures of three Vice-Chancellors. JNU’s legal wars with students and faculty pile up under 3 V-Cs | Rs 30-lakh fines chill campus dissent (November 2025) The report traced how steep monetary penalties — now codified in the Chief Proctor’s Office Manual — are reshaping dissent and disciplinary action on campus. 2. International Education & Immigration ‘Free for a day. Then came ICE’: Acquitted after 43 years, Indian-origin man faces deportation — to a country he has never known (October 2025) H-1B $100,000 entry fee explained: Who pays, who’s exempt, and what’s still unclear? (September 2025) Khammam to Dallas, Jhansi to Seattle — audacious journeys in pursuit of the American dream after H-1B visa fee hike (September 2025) What a proposed 15% cap on foreign admissions in the US could mean for Indian students (October 2025) Anxiety on campus after Trump says visas of pro-Palestinian protesters will be cancelled (January 2025) ‘I couldn’t believe it’: F-1 status of some Indian students restored after US reverses abrupt visa terminations (April 2025) 3. Academic Freedom & Policy Exclusive: South Asian University fires professor for ‘inciting students’ during stipend protests (September 2025) Exclusive: Ministry seeks explanation from JNU V-C for skipping Centre’s meet, views absence ‘seriously’ (July 2025) SAU rows after Noam Chomsky mentions PM Modi, Lankan scholar resigns, PhD student exits SAU A series of five stories examining shrinking academic freedom at South Asian University after global scholar Noam Chomsky referenced Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an academic interaction, triggering administrative unease and renewed debate over political speech, surveillance, and institutional autonomy on Indian campuses. 4. Mental Health on Campuses In post-pandemic years, counselling rooms at IITs are busier than ever; IIT-wise data shows why (August 2025) Campus suicides: IIT-Delhi panel flags toxic competition, caste bias, burnout (April 2025) 5. Delhi Schools These Delhi government school grads are now success stories. Here’s what worked — and what didn’t (February 2025) ‘Ma’am… may I share something?’ Growing up online and alone, why Delhi’s teens are reaching out (December 2025) ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on InstagramTags:IIIT Delhi