The global ranking of National Taiwan University (NTU) has made a jump of 20 places to 134th in the latest assessment by Times Higher Education’s 2012-2013 World University Rankings, published on Wednesday.
NTU is the only institution in Taiwan to make the top 200 list.
Universities ranking lower than 200 are not assigned individual rankings, but are presented within various ranges.
National Tsing Hua University is ranked in the 226-250 range, down from 201-225 the previous year, and National Chiao Tung University is rated 251-275, down from 226-250.
National Cheng Kung University and National Sun Yat-sen University are in the 301-350 cut, while National Central University and National Taiwan University of Science and Technology are in the 251-400 bracket.
Phil Baty, editor of Times Higher Education Rankings, said NTU has taken a big leap of 20 places this year thanks mainly to special funding from the government and its focus on enhancing teaching, as well as an increased number of published works cited by academics globally.
“That’s a great improvement, especially when there is so much more competition at the end of the table,” Baty said.
However, he said Taiwanese authorities need to also provide support and encouragement to the other universities and help them obtain better rankings.
“I think the other universities in Taiwan are struggling more to keep up. They have to fight to remain competitive,” he said.
Overall, this year’s results reflect a “shift of power from the West to the East,” marked by an exciting rise among institutions across the Asia-Pacific region, Baty said.
The top five institutions this year are the California Institute of Technology, University of Oxford, Stanford University, Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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