NUS and NTU move up in world rankings

The National University of Singapore (NUS) edged up another three spots to 26th this year, after going from 40th to 29th in 2012. It also held on to its position as the second-best in Asia, after Tokyo University.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

Here is the full statement from the National University of Singapore:

NUS has advanced to the 26th position in the latest 2013-2014 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, up three places from last year.

Based on 13 performance indicators, the Rankings examine a university's strengths in five areas - Teaching, Research, Citation, Industry Income and International Outlook.

NUS President Professor Tan Chorh Chuan expressed delight in the latest results. "We have kept a strong focus on enhancing the value and impact of our work through continually raising the quality of our faculty and the impact of their teaching, scholarship and thought-leadership; pioneering fresh approaches to education such as at NUS' new University Town and in the establishment of the Yale-NUS College; bringing together the best NUS researchers across disciplines to stimulate new thinking in integrative research clusters; and striving to differentiate ourselves in education, research and its application, and in thought-leadership as a global university centred in Asia," he said.

Phil Baty, Editor of THE Rankings, pointed out that NUS' continued rise up the rankings is particularly impressive, demonstrating its strength across the board on a wide range of metrics. He said: "NUS has established itself as a true global force - a magnet for global talent with particularly outstanding scores for its international outlook. NUS is not just rising in status in the Asia-Pacific region, but also proving its excellence against the best that the US, UK, Canada and the rest of Asia has to offer."

In a statement by the Nanyang Technological University, the university noted its achievement in improving its ranking by 98 positions since 2010.

Here is the statement in full by NTU:

Nanyang Technological University (NTU) continues its upward march in the global rankings of the top universities.  In the latest Times Higher Education's World University Rankings released today in Singapore, NTU climbed 10 places to be ranked 76th worldwide.  This is the third straight year of sharp ascent for NTU in the Times Higher ranking, having vaulted a phenomenal 98 positions since 2010.

For the first time, NTU is ranked No 1 in the world for industry income and innovation, a big jump from last year's15th place. This indicator measures a university's knowledge-transfer activity based on the research income it attracts from industry, scaled against the number of academic staff and is one of the 13 key performance indicators used by Times Higher. NTU also improved its scores in citations per paper and international outlook.

Commenting on the University's performance, NTU President, Professor Bertil Andersson said, "NTU is clearly on a continuous upward momentum in the global rankings and this latest ranking is another recognition of the University's capabilities to deliver excellence in teaching, research and innovation." "NTU has been rapidly ramping up our collaborations with the world's leading multinationals and key industry players in the last few years, and this pace is expected to continue."

Mr Phil Baty, Editor, Times Higher Education Rankings said, "Times Higher Education's World University Rankings use a trusted range of 13 rigorous performance indicators and are the only global rankings to judge world-class research institutions against all of their core activities - teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook. So, Nanyang Technological University's continued rise up the rankings is particularly impressive, demonstrating strength right across the board on a wide range of metrics."

In the World Academic Summit Innovation Index announced by Times Higher in August 2013, Singapore was placed second globally for the amount of industry funding academics bring in to carry out work in innovation and research. NTU clearly attracts the lion's share of the industry research income in Singapore, scoring full marks in this indicator measure.

"This year, we advanced our partnership with long time partner Rolls Royce through the new $75 million Rolls Royce Corporate Lab @ NTU. The Lab will pave the way for NTU and Singapore to be entrenched in aerospace technology development globally. NTU has established a joint research lab with global security and aerospace giant Lockheed Martin to work on collaborative research projects in nanotechnology."

"We also have a joint mobility lab with BMW - one of the eight joint labs they have in the world, and the only one in Asia. All these collaborations will help to build up expertise that is in high demand and which will contribute to Singapore's economic growth," added Prof Andersson.

On NTU's jump of 10 places in this year's rankings, Prof Andersson said: "Both Times Higher and QS use different measurement parameters. For Times Higher, I expect that we will be within the Top 50 in a few years' time. For QS, we are already ranked 41st and I foresee we will break into the 30s soon." He added that no evaluation system can adequately capture all the aspects of a university.

"But NTU's significant jumps in three straight years in both the Times Higher and Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) rankings clearly show that our investments in our faculty, academic and research programmes, students, and our strong network of partners have borne results. This is a remarkable achievement considering that international competition is becoming more intense, especially within the East Asia region," Prof Andersson added.

In a similar ranking by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) last month, NTU was ranked No. 41 internationally, moving up 33 positions in the QS world rankings over the last three years.

Both rankings measure universities using different methodologies. Unlike the QS ranking that uses five criteria, including reviews from academics and employers, the Times Higher Education's World University Rankings employs 13 indicators grouped together into five categories: research (30 per cent), citations (30 per cent), teaching (30 per cent), international outlook (7.5 per cent) and industry income and innovation (2.5 per cent). The full results of the 2013-2014 THE World University Rankings are available at www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/