Asia University Rankings 2022: a pause for reflection

As the region’s boom slows, countries can focus on weak points and readjust aims, writes Ellie Bothwell

June 1, 2022
Asia University Rankings 2022

View the THE Asia University Rankings 2022 results


Much commentary on Asian higher education is focused on its rise, and there have been some phenomenal developments, including extraordinary achievements in research and growing higher education enrolment rates.

But one area that perhaps has not yet lived up to high expectations in the short term is its progress on international student recruitment.

While experts had predicted that the pandemic might accelerate East Asia’s emergence as a regional higher education hub, lingering border restrictions and geopolitical tensions mean that it might be some time before the continent becomes a serious competitor to major English-speaking nations in the West. It is an issue we explore in our main analysis, with one scholar suggesting that it might be 20 years before we see any significant increase in intra-Asian higher education mobility.


Asia University Rankings 2022: results announced


One country that has long struggled with internationalisation is Japan. In an interview with Times Higher Education, the president of Tohoku University explains how he is trying to make his institution more friendly to foreign faculty.

Analysis of the data behind our Asia University Rankings suggests that his insights could be useful to leaders in many parts of the region. According to our figures, Chinese universities’ main weakness is international outlook, while India also struggles in this area – although the latter nation has a clear plan to improve this via its National Education Policy. Meanwhile, internationalisation is a relative strength for institutions in Saudi Arabia, a country that is also growing in research prominence.

Elsewhere, some nations are prioritising challenges that are closer to home. Choltis Dhirathiti, executive director of the Asean University Network, argues that universities in the region should double down on more fundamental issues relating to the quality of teaching and research in order to “catch up” with institutions in the West, while the president of Mahidol University is focusing on nurturing academic talent and introducing more flexible education in a bid to attract a wider pool of largely domestic students.

ellie.bothwell@timeshighereducation.com


Countries/regions represented in the Asia University Rankings 2022

Country/region

Number of institutions

Top institution

Rank

Japan

118

University of Tokyo

6

China

97

Tsinghua University

1

India

71

Indian Institute of Science

42

Iran

58

Babol Noshirvani University of Technology

=57

Turkey

54

Cankaya University

75

Taiwan

40

National Taiwan University (NTU)

=21

South Korea

36

Seoul National University

8

Pakistan

21

Quaid-i-Azam University

116

Malaysia

18

University of Malaya

=55

Thailand

17

Mahidol University

=145

Saudi Arabia

15

King Abdulaziz University

28

Indonesia

14

University of Indonesia

201–250

Israel

8

Tel Aviv University

30

Hong Kong

6

University of Hong Kong

4

Jordan

5

Jordan University of Science and Technology

=78

United Arab Emirates

5

Khalifa University

37

Vietnam

5

Ton Duc Thang University

73

Iraq

4

University of Technology, Iraq

251–300

Lebanon

4

American University of Beirut

=51

Bangladesh

3

University of Dhaka

251–300

Kazakhstan

3

Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University

401–500

Macao

2

University of Macau

33

Philippines

2

University of the Philippines

129

Singapore

2

National University of Singapore

3

Sri Lanka

2

University of Peradeniya

93

Brunei Darussalam

1

Universiti Brunei Darussalam

=62

Kuwait

1

Kuwait University

251–300

Nepal

1

Tribhuvan University

201–250

Oman

1

Sultan Qaboos University

201–250

Palestine

1

An-Najah National University

89

Qatar

1

Qatar University

46

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