Prof Mohd Hamdi
FOR the sixth consecutive year, Universiti Malaya (UM) has led the way among local institutions in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings.
The 20th edition of the rankings sees Malaysia’s oldest varsity being placed within the top 5% of the 1,503 institutions ranked by QS, climbing to 65th position and earning bragging rights as the only Malaysian university in the top 100.
Its achievement is due largely to its standing among academics and employers. UM ranks 34th for Employer Reputation – the highest for the country – and 68th for Academic Reputation.
It is also the top Malaysian university for International Research Network (148th) and Sustainability (68th), and is the only Malaysian institution to rank in the top 400 for Employment Outcomes (286th).
UM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Hamdi Abd Shukor said he views the upward trajectory as evidence of the university’s continued commitment to serving the nation and impacting the world.
However, he said, there is still much room for improvement.
“We are working to improve research publication impact and have identified factors that need immediate attention.
Prof Driscoll
“We are focusing on redoubling our research productivity with the provision of more research grants.
“Efforts to maintain and upgrade facilities are ongoing, as well as to secure the employment of good postdoctoral fellows and researchers, which will contribute to high-impact research,” he said in a statement on June 28.
Coming in second is Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), which moved six spots from 143rd to 137th, sharing 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 up the local institutions listed in the top 200.
UPM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Roslan Sulaiman said the varsity will continue to prioritise quality research, especially in the fields of agriculture and food security, as well as improve its reputation, both 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 outstanding rankings in two indicators: International Student Ratio and Employer Reputation.
Its vice-chancellor and president Prof Michael Driscoll said this is a “remarkable achievement for the university”.
“These rankings also reflect our unwavering commitment to providing an excellent education and ensuring the quality of what we offer,” he added.
UCSI vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir said the university had done fairly well in line with the seismic shifts in ranking evaluation.
“We will work harder to improve graduate outcomes, student experiences and thought leadership.”
A record high number of 28 Malaysian higher education institutions (HEIs) are ranked in the QS World University Rankings 2024, with four universities making their debut, namely, INTI International University (joint 556th rank with Florida International University, United States), Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) (621-630 band), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia and Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (both in the 1,201-1,400 band).
International Student Ratio, which assesses global attractiveness and on-campus diversity, is Malaysia’s strongest performance overall, with five universities among the world’s top 100.
APU achieves Malaysia’s highest rank for any individual indicator in this metric, placing 16th.
QS senior vice-president Ben Sowter said Malaysian universities enjoy a highly diverse and international faculty and student body, together with a flourishing reputation among international academics and employers.
However, he added, Malaysia faces challenges in bridging the gap between academia and industry, as the country faces hurdles in producing work-ready graduates.
“A focus on experiential learning and global partnerships could help it develop this area,” he said in a press release on June 28.
Malaysia also struggles somewhat to produce influential, widely-cited research. In the QS measure of research impact, Citations per Faculty, it sees one of its lowest average scores.
Despite this, Malaysia records Asia’s highest average score for the QS measure of cross-border collaboration.
“Malaysia’s excellence is spotlighted this year by its average scores per institution, which outshine most Asian countries in multiple areas,” Sowter added.
Overall, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US continues to dominate the rankings for the 12th year; the United Kingdom’s University of Cambridge maintains its second place while its University of Oxford rises to third place.
The National University of Singapore (8th) enters 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, up from 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
