Six of seven public universities in Hong Kong rose in a global ranking, with the city’s oldest institution climbing to 17th place, its best showing since the table began in 2004.
Ben Sowter, senior vice-president of the Britain-based education information firm Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), said Hong Kong universities were among the most improved institutions in the world this year after achieving significant gains in their reputation among employers and research performance.
“Despite its exceptional academic and research achievements, Hong Kong still faces challenges in improving employment outcomes for graduates,” he said. “Balancing these successes with the evolving economic and political landscape will be crucial for maintaining its global standing.”
The latest edition of the QS’s world university rankings showed the University of Hong Kong (HKU) climbed to 17th place, up from 26th last year, and reaching its highest position since the world league table was launched in 2004.
HKU also ranked fourth-highest in Asia, after the National University of Singapore, Peking University and Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.
Other top universities in Hong Kong also rose in the rankings from last year.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) rose 11 spots to 36, and the institution said it was its best performance since 2010.
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology jumped from 60th place last year, its worst performance, to 47th, placing itself again in the top 50.
Polytechnic University and City University (CityU) both rose eight spots, placing 57th and 62nd respectively.
After sliding to 295th last year, Baptist University improved this year and ranked 252nd.
Lingnan University, the only institution in the city that dropped this year, fell from the 641st-650th range to 711st-720th.
QS rates 1,503 tertiary institutions across 106 places, with nine areas assessed: academic reputation, reputation among employers, academic staff to student ratio, citations per faculty, international faculty ratio, international student ratio, sustainability, employment figures and international research network.
QS pointed out Hong Kong was among the world’s best-performing locations for academic reputation, which took up the heaviest weighting – 30 per cent – in its rankings.
“The University of Hong Kong places 27th in this indicator and is Hong Kong’s only institution in the top 50,” it said.
QS added Hong Kong was one of the world’s most successful research hubs as CityU and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology placed 6th and 16th for “citations per faculty”, which is one of the nine metrics in the ranking measuring the relative intensity and volume of research being done at an institute.
“City University of Hong Kong’s research output is underpinned by a large and diverse faculty base and a highly international student cohort,” it said.
Globally, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) remained the top-ranked university for the 12th year in a row.
Imperial College London claimed the second spot, while the University of Oxford and Harvard University remained in 3rd and 4th place respectively. The University of Cambridge rounded out the top five.
The National University of Singapore was the top institution in Asia and remained in eighth position.
In mainland China, Peking University jumped three spots to 14th and Tsinghua University jumped from 25th to 20th.
CUHK president Rocky Tuan Sung-chi attributed its best result yet to its staff and students.
“This impressive result fully demonstrates CUHK’s long-standing commitment to academic excellence and our ability to compete with world-class universities,” he said.
A spokesman for Hong Kong University of Science and Technology said the latest result affirmed its dedication to excellence in teaching, research and knowledge transfer.
Professor Freddy Boey, president of CityU, said his university would continue to lead its teachers and students in embracing global development trends and contribute to society in Hong Kong and the world.
Lam Tai-fai, chairman of PolyU’s council, said it was making progress in ranking in the top 50 after rising from 106th in 2019 to 57th this year.
Teng Jin-Guang, president of PolyU, said it would continue to pursue excellence in education, scientific research, innovation and entrepreneurship.
HKU has been approached for comment.
