Tsinghua University takes top spot from National University of Singapore in Times Higher Education Asia-Pacific rankings in a first for mainland Chinese institution
- University, which counts President Xi Jinping among its alumni, was ranked second last year
- Three universities in Hong Kong make it into the top 10
Tsinghua University in Beijing has unseated the National University of Singapore (NUS) to become the first institution in mainland China to be ranked No 1 in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a study released on Thursday by Times Higher Education.
NUS, which took top spot in both 2017 and 2018, fell to No 2 in the 2019 rankings.
The University of Melbourne bounced back to third, its position in 2017, from fourth last year.
Three universities in Hong Kong made it into the top 10.
At No 4 was Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), up from sixth in 2018 and seventh in 2017. The University of Hong Kong remained in fifth place. It was sixth in 2017. Chinese University rose to the No 9 spot from 10th in 2018 and was not among the top 10 the year before.
The Asia-Pacific rankings comprised a total of 320 tertiary institutions from across 13 countries and regions, including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
The study rates universities across 13 performance indicators that measure how well an institution has done in teaching, research volume and reputation, research influence, international outlook and knowledge transfer.
HKU places 36th in Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2019
Ellie Bothwell, global rankings editor at Times Higher Education, said: “Since 2017, Tsinghua has maintained or improved its score each year in all five pillars underpinning the table: teaching, research, citations, international outlook and industry income. It has stronger teaching and research scores than NUS and a much higher industry income score this year.”
Another mainland Chinese institution in the top 10 in the 2019 rankings was Peking University, in sixth place, sliding from third in 2018 and second in 2017.
“Mainland China is the big success story in this ranking. Of the 60 Chinese universities that were also ranked last year, 40 have improved their standing,” Bothwell said.
It is very impressive that Hong Kong’s top five universities still all feature in the top 30 for the region
“Hong Kong has had a stable performance … It is very impressive that Hong Kong’s top five universities still all feature in the top 30 for the region.”
An HKUST spokesman said the university was pleased with its ranking.
“Rankings can serve as a useful reference for us to understand more about our performance and identity areas for improvement. HKUST will continue to put emphasis on promoting innovation and scientific research, as well as offering top quality education to our students.”
Other universities in the top 10 in the latest rankings were Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, in seventh; Australian National University, in eighth; and in 10th place was the University of Tokyo.
National Taiwan University was ranked 35th and the University of Macau 60th.
