A record high of 15 Malaysian universities have qualified for the Times Higher Education (THE) Asia University Rankings 2021 – in comparison to eight from last year.

Five out of six of Malaysia’s top universities have maintained or improved their ranking, while two new institutions have been included in the 401+band, these are Universiti Kuala Lumpur and Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka.

While Universiti Malaya dropped a few places, it is still ranked in the top 50 for four consecutive years. Universiti Teknolohi Petronas moved up 13 spots, Universiti Putra Malaysia moved up 9 spots and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia moved up by 10 spots.

The links to articles shared below include additional information and analysis with comments from officials.

Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2021/06/03/malaysia-now-has-15-in-list-of-worlds-best-universities

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2021/06/02/record-high-of-15-malaysian-universities-qualified-for-the-asia-university-rankings-2021

Comments by British Council:

This is a significant milestone for Malaysian institutions and is aligned with the country’s dedicated efforts to expand as a regional and international education hub.

Malaysia is a popular international study destination, drawing international students from around the world. The consistent efforts by Ministry of Higher Education to strengthen research and expansion has in recent years seen Malaysian institutions rise consistently in different rankings. The shift to online delivery and work through different stages has continued consistently leading to plans for development of digital education infrastructure with committed funding. It will be interesting to see how these plans develop and expand.

Given the impact of the pandemic to the academic year and access to facilities for students and academics alike, the Ministry has introduced several initiatives to facilitate graduates and employability. These have been welcomed by Malaysian institutions and students.

Students within Malaysia have ample choices for study in-country with several options to continue education internationally through different pathways including student exchange, mobility programmes and collaborations, in addition to the TNE options provided by the private sector.

With these developments, there should be increased opportunities for international collaborations and partnerships across areas of specialisations that UK institutions could tap into. The strong interest by Malaysian institutions to collaborate with UK sector through the Turing Scheme is just one recent example.