The continent’s best: NUS, NTU clinch top spots in Asian university rankings

Defending champion University of Tokyo better watch out.

Here’s yet another proof that the country is a regional leader in education. The National University of Singapore (NUS) came in second while the National Technological University (NTU) clinched the 11th spot in the latest Asia University Rankings by the Times Higher Education magazine.

The Asia University Rankings used 13 performance indicators to identify the best universities in the continent. These criteria include teaching, research, citations, industry income, and international outlook.

The University of Tokyo claimed the top spot, but even the best performer is at risk.

“Japanese universities are not hungry enough,” says Jamil Salmi, author of The Challenge of Establishing World Class Universities.“They are generally satisfied and comfortable with their present situation and have no sense of urgency other Asian countries, by contrast, such as China, Singapore – even the Saudis – are very driven and are working hard to improve their results.”

Here’s more from Times Higher Education:
Tan Chorh Chuan, president of the National University, attributes his institution’s success to “a singular focus on continually enhancing the quality of its scholars, staff, students and leadership, and the impact of their work”.

This has required a bold strategic approach, he adds: “The university seeks to differentiate itself by pioneering innovations in education that we believe will be valuable in the future, fostering research clusters that enable high-impact multidisciplinary work on challenging global and Asian issues, and establishing deep strategic partnerships that represent distinctive new models and approaches.”

But Singapore’s political, cultural and economic climate has played a central part in creating the environment for success, Tan says.

Singapore’s institutions enjoy “institutional autonomy, coupled with the strong sustained support of the government and the public. This is aided by Singapore’s success as a dynamic, creative and forward-looking country that places an intensive emphasis on developing its local talent while being open and attractive to the best from around the world,” he says.