KUALA TERENGGANU, Oct 1 (Bernama) -- Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) has moved up in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2027, placing in the 801-1,000 bracket globally, compared with 1,001-1,200 in 2026.
Its vice-chancellor, Prof Datuk Dr Fadzli Adam, said UniSZA maintained its 10th position among 19 public universities in the THE World University Rankings 2027, released on Sept 30, which ranked 2,297 universities across 118 countries and territories.
He said UniSZA’s improved ranking is also supported by higher scores in four of THE’s five key assessment areas, particularly in research, teaching and international outlook.
“The achievement reflects the collective efforts of the university community and indicates that our institutional development strategies are making positive progress. Moving from the 1,001-1,200 brackets to 801-1,000 globally for the first time is a significant achievement,” he said in a statement today.
He said UniSZA will remain committed to strengthening the university’s overall ecosystem, particularly in academic and teaching quality, high-quality, high-impact research, internationalisation, strategic networks and collaborations, industry ties, and its contributions to society.
Fadzli said the achievement is no reason for the UniSZA community to rest on its laurels, as the university, being one of Malaysia’s youngest, still has a long journey ahead, adding that an institution's age should not stand in the way of excellence or greater competitiveness nationally and internationally.
“We remain optimistic that we can continue to make steady and sustainable progress. International rankings are not the ultimate goal for any university, but rather a tool to objectively assess an institution’s performance and standing and benchmark its achievements against universities worldwide,” he said.
He said the ranking served as a benchmark for UniSZA to assess its standing, identify its strengths and areas for improvement, and foster healthy competition, stressing that competition in higher education should go beyond rankings and focus on improving the quality of knowledge, innovation and research, while creating greater impact on society.
“UniSZA will continue to pursue this aspiration. Its performance in the THE World University Rankings 2027 will serve as an impetus to further strengthen its institutional strategies and culture of continuous improvement, in line with the university’s aim of enhancing excellence, visibility and impact at the national and global levels,” he said.
-- BERNAMA