Singapore's NTU ranks second among young universities globally

Singapore's Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has been ranked second among the inaugural Nature Index Young Universities ranking which lists the world's top universities aged 50 years or younger by their research performance.

The only Singapore university listed in the Top 10 of the Nature Index Young Universities ranking, NTU achieved an FC score of 232.51 and an AC score of 569.

In an interview with Nature Index that is published alongside the release of its Young Universities ranking, NTU President, Professor Subra Suresh said NTU has consistently delivered in terms of research output, innovation and teaching excellence.

Prof Suresh commented on the key factors contributing to NTU’s rise, during the past twelve months, to its historic high in every major international ranking.

He said: "We have been very successful in attracting top talent from Singapore and from all over the world. This includes students, postdocs, faculty and staff. Our commitment to excellence in both education and research has also been strong.

"Furthermore, in order to have impact, we need to make sure that research and education not just lead to academic excellence, but that they also contribute significantly to society. That’s why NTU has taken major steps that have forged very successful and large-scale government and industry partnerships that are showing clear impact.

According to Prof Suresh, the institution has more than 200 companies from around the world that have collaborations with faculty, staff and students on campus.

Asian institutions dominated the ranking

The Singaporean institution was bested only by University of Chinese Academy of Sciences which took the top spot.

Asian institutions dominated the ranking with eight universities in the top 10. The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne in Switzerland and the University of Paris Sud in France were the only non-Asian universities in the top ten.

The top 10 young universities were: 

#1 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS)Country: ChinaYear established: 1978FC: 318.77AC: 1,816

#2 Nanyang Technological University (NTU)Country: SingaporeYear established: 1991FC: 232.51AC: 569

#3 Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)Country: SwitzerlandYear established: 1969FC: 219.92AC: 542

#4 Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)Country: South KoreaYear established: 1971FC: 155.09AC: 319

#5 Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)Country: ChinaYear established: 1991FC: 108.39AC: 310

#6 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)Country: Saudi ArabiaYear established: 2009FC: 104.77AC: 248

#7 Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech)Country: ChinaYear established: 2012FC: 89.22AC: 271

#8 Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH)Country: South KoreaYear established: 1986FC: 85.85AC: 219

#9 University of Paris Sud (UPSud)Country: FranceYear established: 1970FC: 71.08AC: 574

#10 Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST)Country: South KoreaYear established: 2009FC: 68.88AC: 161

Prof Suresh, said: "Asia’s science and technology universities are giving their North American and European counterparts a run for their money to become the world's leading research powerhouses of the future. With the rise of Industry 4.0, the success of these young universities will depend on their ability to develop successful education, research and entrepreneurial programmes that ride on new growth areas and opportunities."

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About the ranking

The Nature Index Young Universities ranking lists outstanding performers in terms of the Nature Index metrics of article count (AC) and fractional count (FC) that track research output and collaboration. AC is the total number of articles published by an institution’s affiliated authors in the 82 publications tracked by the Nature Index. FC measures the share of those institutions’ contribution to each article.

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