QAU ranked among Asia’s top 100 varsities

Times Higher Education rankings lists 10 Pakistani varsities among top Asian universities

ISLAMABAD: Quaid-i-Azam University has broken into the top 100 universities of Asia while it is listed among the top 500 in the world, according to the latest rankings issued by the Times Higher Education (THE) at the 2018 Asia Universities Summit in China, local media reported on Thursday.

This year, Pakistan only had one varsity in the top 500 and a total of four in the top 1,000 universities in the world.

Located in Islamabad, Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), was ranked at 79 in the top 100 Asia University Rankings 2018, after making a considerable jump from its previous ranking in the 121-130 band.

The country's top public research university was ranked 466 in the world behind Qatar University and Reykjavík University of Iceland.

COMSATS Institute of Information Technology was the next best university in the country, ranked at 125 on the list for Asian universities, up from its position in the 141-150 band last year. It was ranked 642 in the world between Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia and Coventry University of UK.

The National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) was ranked at 727 in the world, below National University of Science and Technology (MISiS) of Russia but above the National Sun Yat-Sen University of Taiwan. In Asia, NUST was ranked at 162, sharing it with Universiti Sains Malaysia.

The University of Agriculture in Faisalabad came in at 802 in the global rankings, below Adam Mickiewicz University of Poland and above Ain Shams University of Egypt. In Asian rankings, it was ranked at 251.

Other Pakistani universities that managed to grab a position for themselves on the list are the Bahauddin Zakariya University of Multan, University of Lahore, University of Peshawar, PMAS Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Lahore and the Government College University Lahore.

The editorial director of global rankings at Times Higher Education Phil Baty congratulated Pakistan for having 10 universities on the list.

“It is a fantastic achievement that Pakistan now has 10 universities in the Asia rankings and that its two leading universities have risen up the table,” he said, adding that research must be made a priority if a country wants to stand out from its competition in Asia.

The latest Asian rankings feature over 350 universities, including 10 universities from Pakistan, three more than in the 2017 list.

By comparison, India had 42 universities in the Asian rankings, including two in the top 50 and seven in the top 100. India also boasted two varsities in the global top 500.

The National University of Singapore was the top-ranked Asian university while Oxford topped the charts of the global rankings.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 10^th, 2018.