Mixed results for Thai universities

MAHIDOL THRIVES AS CHULALONGKORN DIVES IN WORLD RANKINGS

Thai universities are performing better among emerging economies, a new report has found, although Chulalongkorn University has dropped sharply in the rankings.

Times Higher Education ranked seven Thai universities in the top 200 of its annual Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China) and Emerging Economies list, with four new entries.

Mahidol University is now the highest ranked Thai university, according to the London-based weekly magazine, rising to No 54 on the list from 64.

The country’s oldest university, Chulalongkorn, slipped out of the top 100, dropping from 90 to 134, while King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi went from 49 to 90.

Chiang Mai University (142), Suranaree University of Technology (159), Khon Kaen University (171) and Prince of Songkhla University (188) were the new entrants.

Five institutes from China have been listed in the top 10, followed by two from South Africa and one each from Taiwan, Brazil and Russia. Taiwan has 24 universities in the top 200. Suranaree University of Technology rector Prasart Suebka hailed the result as impressive and said the increased number of Thai institutions in the top 200 was a result of the Education Ministry’s push to make Thai universities world-class.

The policy is designed to support research, technology and the development of innovations at nine top universities in order to help them improve their status in the world university rankings.

Mr Prasart said the seven universities to make the list came from the nine operating under the policy, which showed it had already yielded results.

However, investment on research was still required to help higher education institutions do better in the world university rankings.

According to Times Higher Education’s world ranking, released in October, Mahidol was the top university in Thailand, but was in the 500-600 bracket.

Other Thai universities ranked between 600 and 800.

The QS World University Ranking survey, released in September, showed all top Thai universities had fallen from their previous rankings, with CU dropping 10 places to No 253 in the world. In that list, Mahidol was the second-highest Thai institution at 257.

“If we want to gain a better reputation on the world stage, not just among developing countries, we must keep spending more and more on research activities,” Mr Prasart said. “The ratio of public-private spending on R&D in Thailand at present is less than 1% of GDP, compared with 2.76% for the United States and 4.04% for South Korea.”

The Office of the Higher Education Commission secretary-general Arporn Kaenwong said a working panel would be established to study ways to improve Thai universities’ status in the world rankings. This was in response to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s wish to increase the number of Thai educational institutions in the global university league tables.

Ms Arporn said the panel will combine experts from many top Thai universities.