The University of Cambridge, where several top Indian leaders including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have studied, has been named number one university in the world in the 2010 QS World University Rankings.

Cambridge University has edged out Harvard to become the first non-US university ever to top the list.

QS World University Rankings measure university research quality, graduate employability, teaching commitment and international commitment, using a combination of global surveys and audited data, including citation counts.

The University was voted the best for research quality, as selected by more than 15,000 academics around the world.

Professor Steve Young, Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor, said: “While university league tables tend to over-simplify the range of achievements at institutions, it is particularly pleasing to note that the excellence of the transformative research – research that changes people’s lives – carried out at Cambridge is so well regarded by fellow academics worldwide.”

John O’Leary, executive member of the QS Academic Advisory Board, said: “UK universities have had an exceptionally good year, improving on their best ever results. Not only does Cambridge top the ranking for the first time, but there are more UK institutions than ever before in the top 100 and 200.”