UM placed eighth in ranking in Asia
03 Nov 2021
Nation’s oldest university climbs one step higher from previous year
Universiti Malaya (UM) has climbed a step higher and is now ranked eighth in the Quacquarelli-symonds (QS) World University Rankings: Asia 2022.
Malaysia’s oldest university is followed by the other four research universities in the country – Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) at 27th, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) at 33rd, Universiti Sains Malaysia at 35th and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia at 38th.
Meanwhile, Taylor’s University and UCSI University are in the top 100, at the 53rd and 77th place respectively together with Universiti Utara Malaysia at 98th.
Others in the top 200 are Universiti Teknologi Mara (105), International Islamic University Malaysia (123), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (167), Management and Science University (147), Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (167), and Multimedia University (189).
Sunway University is in the top 150, after climbing 51 spots to be ranked at 121st.
UM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Hamdi Abd Shukor said the university’s improvement is an unprecedented achievement and they are looking to explore other global options for research collaboration that will contribute to stronger global impact.
“We are planning to venture to the African and Latin America region where there are many opportunities for research collaboration (in areas) such as infectious disease, poverty and development studies as well as capacity building,” he said in a statement yesterday.
UPM deputy vice-chancellor (academic and international) Prof Dr M. Iqbal Saripan said the university’s improvement in the rankings is good news and plans to focus on its teaching, research and professional services.
UKM pro-vice-chancellor (Strategy and Corporate Development) Prof Dr Wan Kamal Mujani said the university is proud and honoured with the achievement, which is the result of their strategic plans which focus on students, covering aspects such as teaching, skills enhancement and employability, and improving their research, collaboration and sustainability.
Describing the varsity’s rise as encouraging, UCSI University vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir said that being in Asia’s top 80 universities vindicates their long-standing emphasis on quality education, high impact research and graduate outcomes, as the university climbed 28 spots from last year.
Taylor’s University vice-chancellor and president Prof Michael Driscoll said the varsity has “far exceeded” their initial target of breaking into the top 100 in Asia by 2022.
Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU), which ranks in the 271-280 band, attained the QS Five Stars Plus university rating, the first and only in Malaysia according to QS Intelligence Unit Evaluation head Leigh Kamolins during an announcement on Monday.
APU chief executive officer Datuk Parmjit Singh said that this is a testimony of APU’S strengths and a reflection of their commitment to produce highly employable and future-proof professionals.
Thirty-six universities from Malaysia were ranked in the QS Asian University Rankings 2022, competing against a total of 687 universities in the region, with 24 of them improving their ranking.
QS director of research Ben Sowter said Malaysia’s higher education continues to evolve and rise.
“Last year, UM broke into the region’s top 10 for the first time, and this year rises one more spot, to the eighth place – the highest ever achieved since the rankings’ inception.
“In addition, 68% of the Malaysian universities improved their positions; the best performance of all the 18 locations represented in this edition,” he added.
The National University of Singapore was named the continent’s best university for the fourth consecutive year.
The QS report ranks the continent’s 687 best institutions through 11 key indicators, with the full rankings found at www.topuniversities. com
Source: The Star
