UTM maintains place among Asia’s top 25 universities

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) has maintained its position among Asia's top 25 universities, ranking 25th in the QS World University Rankings: Asia 2027 and sixth in Southeast Asia.

The latest results reflect an improvement in the university's overall score to 92.4, with UTM recording gains in nine of the 11 indicators used by QS to assess universities across Asia.

The performance reinforces UTM's standing as one of Malaysia's leading institutions in engineering, science and technology, while highlighting its growing international academic partnerships and research capabilities.

UTM achieved perfect scores of 100 in three categories: International Students, Inbound Exchange Students and Outbound Exchange Students.

It also scored above 97 in four other indicators, including International Research Network (99.8), Staff with PhD (99.1), Academic Reputation (98.3) and Employer Reputation (97.1).

UTM vice-chancellor Prof Ts Dr Mohd Shafry Mohd Rahim said retaining a place among Asia's top 25 while improving in nine of the 11 assessment indicators demonstrated the university's continued progress.

He said UTM's ambition was to translate research into sustainable solutions that would benefit industry and society.

The university's academic and employer reputation continued to be important contributors to its ranking, accounting for half of its overall score. Its Academic Reputation score increased from 97.4 to 98.3, while Employer Reputation stood at 97.1.

Research performance also improved, with Papers per Faculty rising from 69.9 to 75.6 and Citations per Paper increasing from 60.3 to 64.2.

Its International Research Network score of 99.8 reflected the breadth of its research collaborations with institutions worldwide.

UTM also recorded improvements in the quality of its academic workforce and learning environment. Its Staff with PhD indicator increased from 95.7 to 99.1, while its Faculty Student Ratio score rose from 83.5 to 85.7.

One of the most significant improvements came in internationalisation, with the International Faculty score climbing from 37.0 to 61.8, the largest increase among the 11 indicators.

The perfect scores for international students and two-way student exchange programmes further highlighted UTM's ability to attract international talent and facilitate academic mobility.

The university said its ranking performance strengthened its appeal to prospective international students, research partners and employers, with its academic reputation and international research network supporting its position as a global research collaborator.

Beyond its ranking, UTM is advancing research in emerging fields including artificial intelligence, quantum computing and hydrogen energy, which it sees as important to cleaner energy systems, smarter industries and future technological development.

The university intends to build on its latest performance through its UTM ASCEND 2030 strategy, maintaining its focus on improving academic quality, research impact and international engagement.

Established in 1904, UTM is a research-intensive public university with campuses in Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur. Its areas of specialisation include engineering, science and technology, alongside growing research and academic activities in sustainability, innovation and the humanities.