Universiti Malaya (UM) enters Top 50 in Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2018

In a surprising feat against the odds of Malaysia’s extensive funding cuts on education, Universiti Malaya (UM) has finally made its breakthrough by ascending three ranks from 2017 to 46th place in this year’s the Times Higher Education 2018 Asia University Rankings.

Not far behind, eight other Malaysian universities have also proudly risen above the ranks. Some of the noticeable institution names mentioned include Universiti Tuanku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) topping at 99th position and Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) also saw improvements at 114th position.

In a speech by UM vice-chancellor Abdul Rahim Hashim, he stated that the current ranking system is a benchmark for the university against other prominent institutions of higher learning to measure its current state and status.

According to Times Higher Education (THE), Malaysian leading universities share one common yet crucial trait that affects their ranks — they made it their priority to improve on their teaching, research, citation impact, industry income, and international outlook. High performance Malaysian universities typically drive for a strong international outlook and achieving high levels of industry income.

The country has also made an effort in improving their weakest area in citation impact and increasing research productivity, as mentioned by Phil Baty, THE’s editorial director of global rankings. He further emphasised that all the country’s scores for its proportion of international students, student-staff ratio and income per staff declined.

Many Asian nations have also sensed the drive for competition after the National University of Singapore succeeded at #1 through significant improvements in all areas. India, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Turkey have also seen better improvements but they need to continuously become more competitive as several of their universities have declined in the ranks.

Check out the Top 10 Malaysian universities and where they ranked in Times Higher Education’s Asia University Rankings 2018:

There is no denying that university rankings such as THE Asia University Rankings can be a great exposure for you to research on prominent universities. However, there are many other important factors that make a great university unique and choosing one that is agreeable to you is the right way to go.

To view the full THE Asia 2018 rankings, click here.

(Cover photo courtesy:  The Star)