INRTU entered the Times Higher Education Interdisciplinary Science Rankings 2026 for the first time.

For the first time Irkutsk National Research Technical University (INRTU) has been included in the prestigious Times Higher Education Interdisciplinary Science Rankings (ISR) 2026, published with the support of Schmidt Science Fellows. This ranking is the first and unique tool of its kind that evaluates universities' contributions and commitment to developing interdisciplinary science, which can bring together knowledge from diverse fields to address global challenges.

The ISR 2026 ranking includes 911 universities from 94 countries. Russia is represented by 51 universities. INRTU debuted in the ranking, taking 10th place among Russian participants and an overall position in the global 601-800 range. Irkutsk National Research Technical University shared this position with several leading Russian universities, including MIREA – Russian Technological University, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Russian University of Transport (MIIT), North-Eastern Federal University, Kazan State Power Engineering University, Don State Technical University, and others. The top three spots in the Russian segment were taken by Lomonosov Moscow State University, Bauman Moscow State Technical University, and RUDN University.

The ranking methodology, developed jointly with the Schmidt Science Fellows program, evaluates the full life cycle of interdisciplinary research across three key areas:

1) Inputs: Assesses the funding available for interdisciplinary research, including from industrial partners.

2) Process: Analyzes the conditions created at the university for interdisciplinary work, including the presence of success criteria, specialized infrastructure, administrative support, and a career development system that takes such research into account.

3) Outputs: Measures the productivity, impact, and reputation of interdisciplinary research. It takes into account the number and proportion of publications, their citation impact beyond the discipline, the quality of the research, and the opinion of the global academic community.

Interdisciplinary research in the ranking refers to the integration of knowledge and methods from various scientific disciplines (computer science, engineering, life sciences, and physical sciences) or the combination of scientific disciplines with the social sciences, education, psychology, law, economics, and clinical medicine.

Inclusion in the global ranking, which takes into account numerous objective and reputational indicators, is important recognition of university's growing potential in interdisciplinary research and scientific collaboration. This is the result of the dedicated work of its research teams and university leadership to integrate diverse fields of knowledge to solve complex problems.

The ranking can be found at this link.