MSU-IIT makes it to QS world university rankings in 2021 edition
by Michelle Jeanne Caracut, OC/OPI
MSU-IIT has rejoined the ranks of Asia’s top universities in the latest ranking results released on November 25 by Quacquarelli Symonds, a British company specializing in the analysis of higher education institutions around the world.
In the 2021 edition of the QS World University Rankings: Asia, MSU-IIT landed in the top 83% of all universities evaluated and held an overall rank of 551 – 600.
“This is great news that I hope will lift up the spirits of University constituents who have been subjected to a lot of hardships and stress brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Chancellor Sukarno D. Tanggol said.
“It also teaches us not to be fazed by temporary setbacks,” he added, in reference to the 2020 QS rankings that saw the University skipping an appearance. MSU-IIT was previously ranked 451-500 in the 2019 edition.
With this year’s edition of the QS World University Rankings: Asia, MSU-IIT joins 13 other Philippine higher education institutions (HEIs). Seven of these HEIs are making their first time appearance in the QS list, a development which the Commission on Higher Education calls “the largest increase of ranked Philippine universities”.
Among the country’s State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) that made it to the list, MSU-IIT is second only to the University of the Philippines (UP).
The QS ranks universities based on academic reputation, faculty to student ratio, employer reputation, as well as other set of performance metrics carefully tailored to the region (Asia): faculty members with PhD, citations per paper or publication, scientific papers produced per faculty, international research network, international faculty, international students, inbound and outbound exchange students.
According to the QS World University Rankings: Asia Fact File which detailed the results and contains the data that has been used to calculate the ranks and scores, MSU-IIT’s academic reputation is the “strongest stone” for the university.
Under academic reputation, QS evaluates the perceptions of academics from around the world regarding the best institutions in terms of research.
“To improve the university’s ranking, it should target at least 200 research publications every year in Scopus-indexed journals, come up with an effective graduate tracer scheme, increase international collaborations, sustain its inbound visiting professor program, increase international mobility of students, and strengthen its distance learning capabilities,” said Dr. Gaudencio Petalcorin, Jr., the university’s Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development and former International Affairs Director.
Visit https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/asian-university-rankings/2021 for the full list of rankings of Asian Universities.