The Organization for the Enhancement of Quality in Education (ORCA) published on Tuesday the report “Academic Integrity and Scientific Publishing at the University of Prishtina.” According to the report, the University of Prishtina has shown extraordinary progress in scientific publications over the past seven years. It highlights that from 2017 to 2024, 3,910 scientific papers were registered at the university, while from the first publication by UP academic staff in 1988 until 2017, a total of 1,310 scientific papers had been identified.
ORCA’s executive director, Dibran Hoxha, stated that this progress shows that in just the last seven years, the University of Prishtina has produced more scientific work than in the previous three decades.
Presenting the publication of averages by faculty, he noted that the Faculty of Mathematical Sciences leads, with 1,085 publications for 101 academic staff members.
He also emphasized that 74 percent of the academic staff at the University of Prishtina justify their academic titles.
“Public higher education institutions, specifically the University of Prishtina, have made extraordinary progress in recent years in terms of scientific publishing. Consequently, this also applies to the justification of academic titles. From 1988, when the first scientific publication at UP was recorded, until 2017, 1,310 publications were identified. From 2017 until the end of 2024, another 2,600 publications have been recorded at the University of Prishtina. So, from 1988 to 2017, over 29 years, there were 1,310 publications, while in the last seven years there have been 2,600 more. That means 66 percent of scientific publications at UP since its founding have been produced in the last seven years. This is an extraordinary success for the institution, its partners, and Kosovar society in general. The Faculty of Mathematical Sciences leads, with 1,085 publications for 101 academic staff, averaging 10.7 publications per professor. The Faculty of Agriculture is second, while the Faculty of Architecture has a lower percentage of publications. For 2024, 74 percent of the academic staff at the University of Prishtina justify their academic titles. This is an achievement and a progress that is easily noticeable,” he said.
The university’s rector, Arben Hajrullahu, who was also part of the report presentation, said that UP’s progress is a shared success. He stressed that in terms of academic integrity and justification of titles, the University of Prishtina performs better than other universities, even Albanian-speaking ones in the region.
“Never before has the majority of professors seen the Accreditation Agency or civil society as opponents. We are on the same side, trying to improve every time. The statistics reported here show a shared success. This is very important to highlight. There has been talk of integrity, positive growth, and justification of titles, and in comparison with other universities, UP performs better. It is clear from all parameters that in many aspects UP performs better, not only compared to other public universities but also compared to all other universities in regions where Albanians live. We are the best-ranked university in international lists and indexes,” he emphasized.
Meanwhile, the director of the Kosovo Accreditation Agency, Naim Gashi, said that the University of Prishtina has recorded a 55 percent increase in justifying academic titles compared to 2018.
“When we look at the University of Prishtina, I compared the years 2018-2024. Today, 74 percent justify their academic titles, while previously it was 41 percent. This is a 55 percent increase. So, over six years, this increase in justifying academic titles is a major achievement. This makes us very happy. Our goal is shared — raising quality, and this is reflected in the statistics,” he emphasized.
According to ORCA, the first publication by academic staff at the University of Prishtina recorded in international databases was published in 1988.
