Nanyang
Technological University (NTU) has for the second year running
trumped a Hong Kong rival to secure top spot in a league table of
the world's best young universities.
This year,
NTU has widened the lead over Hong Kong University of Science and
Technology (HKUST) with an overall score of 93.9, compared with
HKUST's 88 points, in the ranking by London-based education
consultancy Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) released this morning. There
were 100 universities in QS' ranking this year.
Last year,
NTU pipped its Hong Kong rival to the top position by just 0.7
point, with a score of 84 points.
PEOPLE AN ASSET
My answer is
simple - it's people, people and people. NTU today is a talent
magnet that draws some of the world's best professors and
students.
NTU PRESIDENT BERTIL ANDERSSON, on
the secret to NTU's success
This time
round, NTU has improved its scores in research citations, academic
and employer reputation, and faculty-to-student ratio. It also
scored well for its internationally diverse faculty and student
communities.
QS said that
the ranking shows that NTU, which was set up in 1991, has not
rested on its laurels after being ranked as the world's best young
university last year.
"On the
contrary, it has enjoyed a huge leap in its World University
Rankings position, and retains its position here despite the
challenge from HKUST. Both results provide evidence of Nanyang's
increasing status as one of the world's elite educational
establishments," said a QS spokesman. NTU shot up 26 places to the
13th spot in this year's QS' World University Rankings released in
September.
The top six
universities in the latest league table are all from Asia. Hong
Kong has three universities and South Korea has two universities in
this year's top 10, with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science
and Technology taking third place. Only universities under 50 years
old participate in the ranking.
Singapore
Management University is not included as it is considered a
specialised university.
1. Nanyang Technological
University
2.The Hong Kong University of
Science and Technology
3. Korea Advanced Institute of
Science and Technology
4.City University of Hong Kong
5.Pohang University of Science and
Technology
6.The Hong Kong Polytechnic
University
7. University of Bath
8.Maastricht University
9.Universidad Autonoma de
Madrid
10.Universitat Autonoma de
Barcelona
SOURCE:
QUACQUARELLI SYMONDS
NTU President
Bertil Andersson said its performance shows that being a young
university should not be a hindrance in making an impact on a
global scale.
Professor
Andersson, a renowned plant biochemist who became NTU president in
2011, said he is often asked the reasons for NTU's rapid rise when
he is overseas.
"My answer is
simple - it's people, people and people. NTU today is a talent
magnet that draws some of the world's best professors and
students," he said, adding that the quality of students at NTU has
been rising rapidly each year.
He noted that
this year, there was an 89 per cent increase in top students
enrolling at NTU, compared with 2011, which was the year before the
university rolled out innovative programmes like the Renaissance
Engineering Programme and the medical school it opened with
Imperial College London.
He added that
data from Thomson Reuters in the last two years showed that NTU
leads the other top Asian universities in normalised citation
impact. NTU also has close collaborations with global industry
players such as BMW, Rolls-Royce and Lockheed Martin.
Earlier this
year, NTU was also named the world's fastest-rising young
university by Times Higher Education, another ranking house.