LONDON — The Times Higher Education, the leading authority on world-class universities, revealed in the Asia University Rankings 2015 that China has overtaken Japan as the continent's higher education powerhouse. In a press statement released Tuesday, it said though Japan still boasts the region's No. 1 institution, the University of Tokyo, many of its representatives have lost ground; to make matters worse, its ranks are thinning, with 19 universities in the list, down from 20 last year and 22 in 2013. Phil Baty, editor of Times Higher Education Rankings, said: “The world expects that Asia will be the next global higher education superpower, after Europe and North America. This new data from Times Higher Education demonstrate that many of the continent's leading universities are already competing on equal terms with the best in the West. “The table also demonstrates the region's huge academic potential, a region now led by China, whose academy is reaping the rewards of serious, sustained investment and internationalization – a model for other Asian nations to follow.” By contrast to Japan, mainland China has three new top 100 entrants, taking its total above Japan's for the first time: it now has 21 representatives, up from 18 last year and 15 in 2013. Both Peking University (fourth) and Tsinghua University (fifth) have moved up a place. Hong Kong University, retaining third place overall, leads a strong group from the Chinese special administrative region – all six of Hong Kong's ranked universities make the top 50. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology rises from ninth to seventh, while the Chinese University of Hong Kong is 13th (unlucky for some – namely the Tokyo Institute of Technology, which it displaces). Hong Kong's SAR peer, Macau, joins the table for the first time, with the University of Macau entering in joint 40th place. South Korea is the third-strongest nation in the rankings with 13 representatives, down from 14 last year: its charge is led by Seoul National University in sixth (down two places) and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in eighth. Although Pohang University of Science and Technology slips out of the top 10 this year, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) jumps 11 places to 16th. Taiwan has 11 universities in the list, down from 13 last year and 17 in 2013. National Taiwan University, its best performer, slips from 14th to 17th. India's strength has also deteriorated slightly this year with nine representatives, down one on 2014. It has a new No. 1 – the Indian Institute of Science enters the table in 37th, one place ahead of last year's leader, Panjab University. Five Indian institutes of technology led by IIT Roorkee (joint 55th) take the lion's share of the country's representation, although there is also room in the top 100 for Aligarh Muslim University (90th) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (96th). Singapore has only two top 100 players, but both are highly placed: the National University of Singapore retains second place, while Nanyang Technological University moves into the top 10 for the first time. Thailand has two representatives in this year's tables. Its top-ranked institution, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, slips five places to joint 55th, followed by Mahidol University, which continues its downward trend, dropping nine places to joint 91st. The Middle East is well represented in the rankings, which cover the entire Asian continent. Turkey has six representatives, up from five last year, and all make the top 50. Middle East Technical University rises 17 places to 12th, stunning progress largely attributable to its outstanding research impact. Bo?aziçi University takes 14th position (up from joint 19th) and new entrant Sabanc? University almost makes the top 20 straight off the bat. Four Israeli universities make the top 100, up from three in 2014. Tel Aviv University takes pole position (22nd), despite falling three places: it displaces the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (down from 18th to 25th). Meanwhile, Bar-Ilan University re-enters the table (joint 75th), having missed out last year. Iran has three institutions in this year's rankings, led by Sharif University of Technology (43rd). Isfahan University of Technology leaps 24 places to 61st while the Iran University of Science and Technology enters the top 100 in joint 69th, replacing the Tehran University of Medical Sciences, which exits the table. Saudi Arabia has two representatives, with King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in 71st position and King Saud University one step behind. Both institutions have made gains on 2014. Lebanon's sole representative in the list is the American University of Beirut, which falls two places to joint 88th. Baty commented: “It should be cause for concern that both Saudi Arabian universities listed among Asia's finest have lost ground. Last year, the Saudi government approved a five-year plan worth more than SR80 billion (£13.85 billion) to develop its education sector, in addition to having already assigned 25 percent of the country's overall budget for the creation of new colleges, facilities and campuses. However, the rankings results suggest that the nation will have to dig even deeper to retain its place at the top table.” Based on the same trusted, balanced methodology as the prestigious Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the Asia rankings use 13 performance indicators to examine each university's strengths against its core missions: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook. — SG
