Taylor’s University is now ranked 89 in Asia according to the latest QS Asia University Rankings 2021 exercise.
WHEN choosing a university to further your tertiary studies, it is important to check its academic achievements and accolades to know that it’s an institution that produces outstanding and future-proof graduates.
Taylor’s University continues to break down barriers as the institution is now ranked 89 in Asia according to the latest QS Asia University Rankings 2021 exercise.
Prof Driscoll: “The right curriculum is the one that builds young minds with an intellectual curiosity and a vision to lead responsibly.”
Rising 90 ranks since 2016, the university made positive strides in academic reputation, employer reputation, internationalisation and faculty to student ratio.
Taylor’s University vice chancellor and president Prof Michael Driscoll shared that the institution was anticipating the top 100 achievement, which follows an outstanding year in various QS rankings exercises.
Taylor’s University kicked off 2020 by attaining recognition as the top private university in Malaysia and Southeast Asia in the QS World University Rankings 2021.
Following that, the institution broke into the QS Top 50 Under 50 2021, making it the only Malaysian private university to be ranked within the coveted Top 50 under 50.
The achievements are the results of massive team effort at Taylor’s and close engagement with industry partners.
“Despite the unprecedented pandemic, our vision of radical administrative and curriculum reforms has served us well, as we accelerated our digitalisation efforts to pave the way for innovation in teaching and learning.
“Our online learning capabilities, which has ensured learning continuity for our students throughout the government enforced campus closure, was subsequently awarded the QS 5 Stars rating.
“Following this, we will continue to push forward with our Borderless Learning concept and a unique ecosystem that future-proofs our graduates with intellectual knowledge, emotional capacities and entrepreneurial creativity to tackle the challenging job market, ” said Prof Driscoll.
Education beyond borders
Even prior to the pandemic, Taylor’s University has been making steadfast investments to expand their digital architecture.
The decision to grow their digital services effectively allowed the private higher education institution to become one of the first campuses in Malaysia to move its teaching and learning online even before the announcement of the movement control order.
Not only did the university digitise their classrooms, it has also digitised registration processes and prospectuses, as well as organised Digital Open Days since 2019.
Taylor’s students on campus.
Leveraging on its virtual architecture, Taylor’s has now successfully adopted the concept of borderless learning. This would mean that students could attend classes in either face-to-face or online mode and online attendees will also participate in a class via livestream, while engaging in discussions and projects virtually.
The institution’s borderless learning initiative, via its award-winning Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), has played a crucial role in ensuring learning continuity for its students, both local and international.
The initiative includes Taylor’s Lecture Capture System (ReWIND), Lightboard Technology, a gamification system and hundreds of subject-specific microsites. These technologies creates opportunities for students to have an on-demand learning experience.
Nurturing intellect and wellbeing
Along with implementing new technologies and digital initiatives to future-proof graduates, Taylor’s University has been carefully curating an ecosystem that will equip students with academic knowledge, practical wisdom and the ability to create and innovate.
Much like a greenhouse that creates an optimal atmosphere and environment for growth of plants, the ‘Taylor’sphere’ ecosystem aims to nurture students’ intellectual, mental and emotional growth.
Fostering their intellectual growth is Taylor’s Curriculum Framework 2.0 (TCF 2.0), with an emphasis on a broad-based learning experience through a borderless learning culture, students have the flexibility to not only choose subjects they wish to study, but also when and where they study.
TCF2.0 also makes room for work-based learning where students are exposed to the industry, spending almost a year with industry partners as part of their degree.
The ‘Taylor’sphere’ also focuses on equipping students with life skill modules where they can improve their leadership skills, cross cultural communication, design thinking, public speaking, and mindfulness, to name a few.
Working with a group of specialised life skills moderators, students develop skillsets needed to navigate challenges within the corporate and professional world.
Additionally, the university’s one-of-a-kind HiVE ecosystem drives entrepreneurship and innovation among students to provide solutions to societal problems, from the very beginning of their learning journey.
With HiVE, every student will take up a social innovation module and have the opportunity to receive guidance with ideation, prototyping, funding and product commercialisation under the mentorship of Me.reka Makerspace, Bizpod and Research Enterprise, making Taylor’s University the first in the country to incorporate such modules into all degree programmes.
The Me.reka Makerspace allows students to explore different ideas.
While Me.reka Makerspace is a space that is equipped with relevant tools that allows students to explore creative and entrepreneurial ideas, the BizPod mentors students to sharpen their business proposals and connect them to investors and venture capitalists, should they want to pitch for funding.
Final-year students also pursue cross-faculty projects, mimicking the collaborative way of working across departments in the industry.
To support these projects, not only would they be able to access Me.reka Makerspace, but the entire campus becomes their ‘makerspace’ where they would be able to utilise any lab, studio or research facility in the university.
For example, an engineering student can access a chemistry lab, an IT student can use the design studios, or a medical student can carry out experiments in a food technology lab to work on ideas and solutions.
As Taylor’s continues to push the envelope in pedagogy and student-centred learning, Prof Driscoll believes that such initiatives will give its graduates the edge in the industry, while helping them find their place and role in society.
“At Taylor’s University, we strongly believe that education should be all encompassing. The right curriculum is the one that builds young minds with an intellectual curiosity and a vision to lead responsibly.
“In today’s times, this means creating classrooms that go beyond geographical limitations and encouraging students to pursue a balanced mix of application and academics. As such, we remain committed in our pursuit of excellence, while always prioritising student well-being and growth, ” he said.
For more information, visit https://university.taylors.edu.my/en.html.
