Malaysian universities drop in world rankings, lack “highly cited” research
(TMI) – Only seven Malaysian universities made it to QS’s list of 800 top institutions for 2013.
Malaysian public universities continue to fall in the QS World University rankings with only Universiti Malaya (UM) still in the top 200 this year, while Singapore’s National University of Singapore (NUS) has moved up to 24 in the world.
QS said Malaysian universities do not produce enough cited research although they have quality academics and produce employable graduates.
QS research head Ben Sowter said Malaysian universities’ rankings plunged due to deficiencies in research but credited them for the quality of their academics and the employability of their graduates.
“The drop in performance for Malaysian institutions this year reflects the intensity of global competition,” he said in a statement.
“But a five-year comparison suggests they have made some significant progress.
“Malaysian institutions are not yet producing highly cited research, but they have developed a solid profile among the world’s academics and graduate employers,” Sowter added.
Only seven Malaysian universities made it to QS’s list of 800 top institutions for 2013. They are Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), International Islamic University Malaysia (UIA) and Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM).
Of the seven, only UM has maintained its position in the top 200 although it dropped from number 156 in 2012 to number 167 in the current list.
But UTM, which was ranked 358th in 2012, was the only one to rise and is now at number 355.
UKM dropped eight spots to number 269 and USM fell 29 spots to number 355. UPM plunged from number 360 to 411-420, but both UIA and UiTM plummeted by 100 points. Last year, UIA was in the ranks of 401 to 450 and UiTM was at 601+.
An overview of the rankings indicated an improvement among Asian universities and a general drop among US institutions.
Of the 62 Asian institutions in the top 400, 70% rank higher this year than in 2007/2008 while 64 out of 83 US universities have dropped in ranking.
The National University of Singapore (NUS) has outshone the University of Hong Kong (HKU) for the first time. NUS is placed at the 24th spot whereas HKU is at the 26th.
