LinkedIn launch University Rankings

I’m not sure whether this new offering from LinkedIn is actually useful for most of us, but it certainly makes interesting reading. It is also yet another example, in this world of ‘Big Data’, of how when a lot of us are willing to share information about ourselves, it can be analysed to give interesting insight into the ways of the world. What LinkedIn have done is take profile data from its 300+ million members across the UK, US and Canada regarding their university education and link this to their subsequent careers to see which universities produce the highest-flying graduates across a whole range of fields.

For example, here’s how they found which universities produce the top software developers:

1. First, they identified the top companies where software developers are choosing to work.
2. Next, they found people on LinkedIn who work as software developers and saw where they went to university.
3. Finally, for each university, they found the percentage of these graduates who’ve landed software development jobs at these top companies, then compared the percentages to come up with the list.

Whether you are making your own selection of a possible university – or know someone who is, or simply want to see where your Alma Mater ranks, take a look here. LinkedIn have also written a blog post on their approach – read it here