A working-class university in Medellín just held its place among the world's best — three years running

On Sunday, rector Alejandro Villa told Medellín that the Institución Universitaria ITM — the city's public, technical-education university — had earned a place in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for a third consecutive year. Of the 2,297 institutions across 118 countries and territories assessed this year, only 24 Colombian institutions met THE's bar across teaching, research quality, industry ties and international outlook — and ITM is the only institución universitaria in the country on the global list. 'Estar en este grupo demuestra que la institución no solo imparte conocimientos, sino que impulsa la investigación de vanguardia' — being there, he said, shows the institution doesn't just teach, it pushes frontier research in service of society.