A total of 10 local universities have been listed among 110 best universities in Asia, according to a report by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings
In its Asia 2021 report published this week, 35 Malaysian universities were included in its 650 ranking list.
Seven public and three private universities made it to the top 110. Those are:
– 9th place: University of Malaya (UM)
– 28th place: Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM)
– 34th place: Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)
– 35th place: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)
– 39th place: Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)
– 70th place: Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP)
– 89th place: Taylor’s University
– 105th place: UCSI University
– 107th place: Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM)
– 108th place: Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM)
Other notable private universities on the list were Management and Science University (MSU) – 139th, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) – 157th, Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) – 168th, Sunway University – 172nd, and Multimedia University (MMU) – 190th.
National University of Singapore (NUS) took the number one spot for the best university in Asia
NUS was ranked 11th in QS World University Rankings.
Meanwhile, UM was ranked 59th in the global ranking, while UPM was at 132.
The QS Asia University Rankings looked at 11 indicators to decide the ranking of each university, including academic and employer reputation, faculty/student ratio, international research network, citations per paper and papers per faculty, and staff with a doctorate degree, among others.
Commenting on the report, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad said, “This is the country’s best achievement so far”
Bernama reported that six more local universities were included in the 650-list this year, bringing the total to 35, compared to 29 last year.
Noraini said the QS report stated that Malaysia is among the best-performing countries in this year’s ranking.
“Twenty-four universities managed to improve their performance, three remain at the same rank and two universities dropped from their last positions,” said the minister.
“The country’s education system is accepted as highly reputable among academicians and employers at the Asian level.”
She said this is the first time UM managed to be in the top 10 by securing the ninth place compared to the 13th last year, adding that the achievement will indirectly place Malaysia as a higher education hub in the Asian region.
