UKM, Sunway crowned top Asean varsities
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) is Asean’s top public university, according to a new ranking in higher education evaluation and branding founded in Singapore.

UKM claimed the top spot with National University of Singapore (NUS) and Indonesia’s IPB University (Bogor Agricultural University) in second and third spots in the AppliedHE Public University Rankings and Private University Rankings for Asean, a press release on Dec 1 read.

Among the 10 most highly ranked public universities, four are from Malaysia.

Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Universiti Malaya are at sixth and seventh spots while Universiti Sains Malaysia is at number 10.

Among the 10 most highly ranked private universities, six are from Malaysia with four of these in the top five.

Sunway University, which was also the country’s top non-government-linked private university in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2024, and ranked by Talentbank as number one in Graduate Employability for the second consecutive year, led the way with UCSI University and Taylor’s University in the third and fourth spots, respectively. Infrastructure University Kuala Lumpur was in fifth place.

Describing the latest accolade as a “remarkable achievement”, Sunway University president Prof Sibrandes Poppema said the recognition further endorses the varsity as the top private institution in the region.

“It solidifies our commitment to upholding holistic education and high-quality research which support the discovery, advancement, transmission and application of knowledge that meets the needs of our society and the global community,” he said in a press release.

The AppliedHE Public University Rankings and Private University Rankings for Asean only includes universities in Asean countries that award locally accredited degrees. It places strong emphasis on quality of teaching and learning (40%) and employability (15-20%). Research, internationalisation, community engagement, and institutional reputation, or brand value, are also included.

On the need for separate private and public university rankings, AppliedHE Ranking Advisory Board chairperson and City University of Hong Kong secretary to council and court Prof Kevin Downing said, “Private universities are different from public universities, and their respective strengths are not adequately highlighted by existing university rankings that combine both types of university.”

The rankings are based on a mix of university-submitted and publicly available data.

Universities that submit data have their information audited by AppliedHE, and distribute the AppliedHE Ranking Student Survey to their students.

External data from Google Scholar and Google News are also used, alongside a system of peer nominations, whereby universities can nominate other institutions which they hold in high regard.

For universities that do not submit data, AppliedHE uses estimated or publicly available data.

AppliedHE founder and chief executive officer Mandy Mok said the rankings measure what is most important to students and their parents – the quality of education, and employability.

Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) CEO Prof Datuk Dr Mohammad Shatar Sabran said AppliedHE fills an important need in the global higher education evaluation landscape with a focus on quality of teaching and learning, and employment and future careers.

This, he said, makes AppliedHE especially relevant to Malaysian students and parents when making a decision on where to study.
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) is Asean’s top public university, according to a new ranking in higher education evaluation and branding founded in Singapore.