UM in top 30 of emerging economies

UNIVERSITI Malaya (UM) has made it into the top 30 universities among the emerging economies of the world.

Malaysia’s oldest varsity is ranked 27th in the Times Higher Education (THE) Emerging Economies University Ranking 2018.

Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman and Universiti Tenaga Nasional also join the table for the first time at number 114 and 159 respectively.

“It’s fantastic to see UM ranked in the elite Top 30,” said THE global rankings editorial director Phil Baty.

He added that the university is the highest ranked institution in Malaysia and Asean.

“UM has stood out through impressive scores in particular for its international outlook, citation impact and industry income.

“To improve still further, it needs to also focus on developing its research capacity – key, alongside a strong international outlook, for ascending these important rankings,” he said.

Besides UM, eight other Malaysian universities are represented this year, up from seven last year.

Universiti Teknologi Petronas climbs 14 spots to number 77 thanks in particular to its improved citation impact score and industry income.

The other Malaysian varsities in the list are Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (101), Universiti Putra Malaysia (108), Universiti Sains Malaysia (135), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (151) and Universiti Utara Malaysia (251-300 band).

Acting THE Rankings editor Ellie Bothwell said: “Improving higher education is imperative to the future prosperity and stability of many emerging economies - a point increasingly recognised in national development agendas.”

“However, we see from this year’s ranking that universities in emerging countries will have to demonstrate immense drive to grow their global ambitions. Global - and regional - competition is intensifying and every university will have to be more resourceful, innovative and internationally-oriented than ever to progress and reach their potential,” she added.

The 2018 edition has been expanded to include 378 universities, up from 200 last year, from 42 countries across four continents.

Peking University in China maintains its number one spot in the ranking followed by Tsinghua University among the emerging economies.

Now in its fifth year, the 2018 ranking parts with its BRICS acronym to become the Emerging Economies Ranking to reflect emerging potential of “diverse, innovative and ambitious” range of nations.

The Emerging Economies Rankings use the same 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators used in all THE rankings.