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UM ROSE 17 NOTCHES TO 70TH PLACE IN QS WORLD UNIVERSITY RANKINGS 2020

Universiti Malaya (UM) has marked a milestone by achieving 70th place in the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings (QS-WUR) 2020, released on 19th June 2019.
 
With an overall score of 67.1 - an improvement of 7.2% from last year, this places UM now amongst the top 7% of the 1,001 institutions ranked by QS-WUR. This development indicates an improvement of 17 places, representing a consistent and steady rise in the recognition of UM as one of the world’s leading universities in teaching and learning, research, innovation and internationalisation.
 
UM Vice-Chancellor, Datuk Ir. (Dr.) Abdul Rahim Hj. Hashim expressed his delight in the results. “Our goal is, and has always been, to benchmark UM against other outstanding universities around the world with a view for further improvement in order to help raise the standard of Malaysian higher education. This achievement is also in line with our mission  to be recognised as the internationally preferred institution of higher learning in teaching and learning, research, publication and innovation.”
 
Since 2014, UM has demonstrated a discernible consistent improvement of 97 places, by adhering with the university’s Strategic Plan.
 
"UM has successfully sustained its upward trajectory in the face of fiscal challenges, and emphasized the wisdom and value of increased financial support from the government in order to achieve excellence in teaching and learning, research and innovation, in the years ahead. Increased investment will enable the university to intensify international collaborations, enhance strategic research and industry partnerships, and improve graduate employability -all of which are its top priorities. UM also has plans to widen its talent pool with excellent local and international staff as well as retain the services of its internationally-recognised retired academics,” he added.
 
The QS WUR was measured using six metrics to determine its rating system; Academic Reputation (40%), Employer Reputation (10%), Faculty/Student Ratio (20%), Citations per Faculty (20%), International Faculty Ratio (5%) and International Student Ratio (5%).
 
UM made the greatest strides under Citations per Faculty (rank 317), Employer Reputation (rank 92) and International Faculty Ratio (rank 280), with improvements of 82, 43 and 31 notches, respectively. Academic Reputation improved by 8 places to 91st placing. The Faculty/Student ratio generally maintained its strong performance, ranked at 78, slipping 4 places from last year. The International Student ratio indicator (rank 251) however, dropped 14 places from last year, due to a reduction in the University’s international student enrolment.

“I would like to thank the Chancellor, Pro-Chancellors and Board of Directors for their unwavering support. I would also like to congratulate and thank the UM community – students, staff and alumni for their commitment and contribution towards the achievement of the university’s performance in the QS WUR 2020. I am grateful for the support given by the Ministry of Education, which had enabled UM to successfully play a key role in its efforts to raise the profile of Malaysian higher education institutions internationally.
 
Together with the Ministry's continued support, we hope to sustain our position as the nation’s premier and most prestigious university in our quest to global excellence in higher education," ended the Vice-Chancellor.
 
The complete results of the QS-WUR 2020 is available at https://www.topuniversities.com/qs-world-university-rankings.

Last Update: Sep 18, 2019