University Malaya (UM) is continuing to make us proud with it awards and achievements, the latest being occupying the 13th spot in the 2020 edition of the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings: Asia.

That’s the highest position it had attained so far, as they were ranked 19th the previous year.

Leading the Malaysian charge

Not just that, the New Straits Times reported that UM also received the distinction of having the highest score of any Asian institution for International Research Network, which measures the diversity of a university’s global network.

Four of Malaysian reseach universities -- Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) (33rd spot), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) (37th spot), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) (39th spot) and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) (46th spot) -- also made the rankings, with all improving from their previous rankings.

In total, 21 of Malaysia’s 29 top universities have risen in the QS World University Rankings Asia list.

QS said Malaysia’s rise is primarily attributable to its improving performance in the two key reputational surveys used by QS to compile the rankings: Academic Reputation (AR) and Employer Reputation (ER).

There are a total of 11 indicators used to compile the QS Asia University Rankings, and Malaysian universities have done fairly well in each indicator, QS revealed in a statement quoted by NST.

The rise of the Malaysian universities

QS also added that Malaysian universities are achieving increasing academic recognition due to the work that its universities have done to improve their global research collaborations.

Director of Research at QS, Ben Sowter, said in the statement that although the research metrics show that Malaysia’s research ecosystem is not yet as developed or efficient as those of its regional competitors, the overall scores achieved by the country’s universities proved that they are moving in the right direction.