Newbeezer
M’sia’s research universities are among the best in the world
2 July 2023

For the sixth consecutive year, Universiti Malaya (UM) has been ranked first among local institutions in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings.

In the 20th edition of the ranking, Malaysia’s oldest university places in the top 5% of 1,503 institutions assessed by QS, climbing to 65th place and boasting the only Malaysian university in the top 100.

Its success is mainly due to its reputation among scientists and employers. UM ranks 34th in Employer Reputation – the highest in the country – and 68th in Academic Reputation.

It is also the top Malaysian university for international research network (148th place) and sustainability (68th place) and the only Malaysian institution to rank in the top 400 in terms of employment outcomes (286th place).

UM Vice Chancellor Prof. Datuk Dr. Mohd Hamdi Abd Shukor said he viewed the upward trend as evidence of the university’s ongoing commitment to serving the nation and making an impact on the world.

However, there is still a lot of room for improvement, he said.

“We are working to improve the impact of research publications and have identified factors that require immediate attention.

Prof Driscoll

“We are focused on doubling our research productivity by providing more research grants.

“Efforts will continue to be made to maintain and modernize the facilities and to secure the employment of good postdocs and researchers, which will contribute to effective research,” he said in a June 28 statement.

Second place is taken by Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), which climbed six places from 143rd to 137th and shares the rank with the University of Science and Technology of China.

Malaysia’s other research universities – Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) (158th), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (159th) and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (188th) – round out the list of local institutions in the top 200.

UPM Vice Chancellor Prof. Datuk Dr. Mohd Roslan Sulaiman said the university will continue to prioritize quality research, particularly in the fields of agriculture and food security, and improve its reputation locally and internationally.

Prof. Siti Hamisah

Meanwhile, Taylor’s University maintains its position as the top private university in Malaysia, ranking 284th, followed by UCSI University at 300th.

Taylor’s University achieves excellent rankings in two indicators: International Student Ratio and Employer Reputation.

Its Vice-Chancellor and President Prof. Michael Driscoll said this was a “remarkable achievement for the university”.

“These rankings also reflect our relentless commitment to providing excellent education and ensuring the quality of what we offer,” he added.

UCSI Vice Chancellor Prof. Datuk Dr. Siti Hamisah Tapsir said the university performed fairly well in the ranking assessment, consistent with the seismic shifts.

“We will work harder to improve graduate outcomes, student experiences and thought leadership.”

A record 28 Malaysian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are represented in the QS World University Rankings 2024, with four universities making their debuts, namely INTI International University (joint 556th with Florida International University, USA), Asia-Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) (621-630 band), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia and Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (both in 1.201-1.400 band).

The International Student Ratio, which assesses global attractiveness and campus diversity, is Malaysia’s strongest performer overall, with five universities in the world’s top 100.

APU ranks Malaysia’s highest for each individual indicator in this metric, ranking 16th.

QS Senior Vice President Ben Sowter said that Malaysian universities have a highly diverse and international faculty and student body, as well as a strong reputation among international academics and employers.

However, he added that Malaysia faces challenges in bridging the gap between academia and industry as the country faces hurdles in training graduates who are ready to work.

“A focus on experiential learning and global partnerships could help develop this area,” he said in a June 28 press release.

Malaysia also has certain difficulties in producing influential, much-cited research. It has one of the lowest average scores on the QS measure of research impact, citations per faculty.

Nonetheless, Malaysia has the highest average score in Asia on the QS measure of cross-border cooperation.

“Malaysia’s excellence is highlighted this year by average results per institution, dwarfing most Asian countries in several areas,” added Sowter.

Overall, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the USA has been dominating the rankings for the twelfth year; Cambridge University in the UK maintains its second place while Oxford University moves up to third place.

The National University of Singapore (8th) makes the top 10, marking a historic achievement for an Asian institution.

The QS World University Rankings 2024 is the largest with 1,503 institutions ranked, compared to 1,418 institutions last year.

In this edition, QS introduced three new metrics – Sustainability, Employment Outcomes and International Research Network – and recalibrated the weighting of certain existing indicators, namely Academic Reputation, Employer Reputation and Faculty Student Ratio.

To view the full rankings, visit https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2024