THE Awards Asia 2019: winners announced

The management team of the National University of Singapore has been crowned the best in Asia at Times Higher Education’s first awards ceremony covering the continent.

NUS topped the Leadership and Management Team of the Year category at the inaugural THE Awards Asia, whose winners were announced at the THE Asia Universities Summit in Abu Dhabi.

The event, which builds on the success of THE’s long- running UK- focused awards – dubbed the “Oscars of higher education” – attracted entries from nearly 80 universities in 21 territories.

The judges praised NUS for its “bold initiatives across core areas in education, research and entrepreneurship, all with clear, successful results”.

They we r e par ticularly impressed by its extension of student enrolment to 20 years to facilitate lifelong learning, focused on providing industry- relevant courses for graduates.

The University of Kirkuk, in Iraq, won the Outstanding Support for Students category for its efforts in taking on tens of thousands of extra students who were displaced from seven other institutions by the rise of the Islamic State group.

John Gill, THE’s editor, said that the awards had “shone a light on the exceptional achievements of universities” across Asia.

“The winners include institutions from China, Singapore, Iraq, South Korea and the Philippines; they include names that will be known to all as among the best in the world, and others that have performed near- miracles in times of great hardship,” Mr Gill said.

“All demonstrate what transformational work universities do, whether in teaching or research, supporting students or building bridges and partnerships across borders. All are worthy winners of these prestigious awards.”

The awards were presented at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, as part of the summit being hosted by Khalifa University.