UKM enters Asia’s top 20 as UM slips to 17th

 The QS World University Rankings: Asia 2027 shows a drop in the positions of 25 Malaysian universities although 17 institutions achieved their highest rankings yet.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia climbed from 24th to joint 20th, while Universiti Malaya fell from 15th to joint 17th, although it remained the country’s highest-ranked university.

PETALING JAYA:

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) has broken into Asia’s top 20 universities for the first time, narrowing the gap with Universiti Malaya (UM), which slipped two places in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings: Asia 2027.

UKM climbed from 24th to joint 20th, while UM fell from 15th to joint 17th, although it remained the country’s highest-ranked university.

Of the 49 Malaysian universities ranked last year, 25 were placed lower, 20 moved up and four remained unchanged. Six newcomers brought the total to 55.

However, 17 institutions achieved their highest rankings yet, while the total number in Asia’s top 100 increased from 10 to 11.

The QS Asia University Rankings 2027, released today, assessed 1,722 universities across Asia based on 11 measures, including their reputation among employers, research performance and international students.

QS said UKM made its biggest improvement in how widely it worked with researchers overseas, rising four places to 11th in Asia in that area.

UM, meanwhile, fell in six of the 11 areas assessed, including its reputation among employers, where it dropped seven places to 17th. It also slipped three places each in international research links and international students.

The report also found that 86% of local universities lost ground in the employer reputation measure, which accounts for 20% of the overall ranking.

Drop in ranking not indicative of performance

Asked about the findings, QS told FMT that a fall in position did not necessarily mean a university was performing worse, as its competitors could simply be improving more quickly.

“The 2027 rankings suggest that peers might now be catching up with Malaysia,” it said in an email.

QS said the country still ranked fifth among the 26 education systems assessed for its average employer reputation score. Nine universities were among Asia’s top 100 in this area, compared with five in 2017.

The report also found that 69% of institutions lost ground in the number of research papers published per academic staff member, while 61% declined in how often their research was referred to by other researchers.

Only one local university made Asia’s top 100 in each of these two measures.

QS said some universities elsewhere in Asia were producing more research and work that was more widely cited. This could be due to greater research funding, better access to talented researchers and stronger international links.

How other universities fared

Universiti Sains Malaysia climbed seven places to 27th, while Sunway University entered Asia’s top 50 for the first time, rising from 55th to 47th.

Universiti Teknologi Petronas, however, dropped from 44th to 51st, while Universiti Utara Malaysia fell 17 places to 82nd. INTI International University was another notable gainer, climbing from 122nd to 86th to enter the top 100 for the first time.

Malaysia also performed strongly in attracting foreign students and lecturers, with 31 universities ranked among Asia’s top 100 for international students and 24 for international academic staff, more than any other country or territory.

Overall, Malaysia had eight universities in Asia’s top 50, matching Japan and South Korea. Only mainland China had more, with 14.

QS said the country’s performance over the past decade had been encouraging, with more universities climbing into Asia’s top ranks despite growing competition. - FMT