University of Hong Kong unseats Singapore’s top varsity in influential Asia ranking, as Peking University holds onto first place

Hong Kong’s oldest university has unseated the leading varsity in Singapore and reclaimed second place in an influential league table for Asia, while mainland China’s Peking University has held onto the top spot for the second year in a row.

A breakdown of the rankings from British firm Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed five of Hong Kong’s universities had gone up the list, three had fallen, as one remained stationary and another joined the charts.

The company behind the Asian University Rankings 2024 also announced on Wednesday that the city’s universities had produced exceptionally high-impact research, as shown by their performance in the category of citations per paper.

4 universities in Hong Kong fall in global ranking of top 100 institutions

“Hong Kong’s universities stand out for their scholarly influence, yet they fall behind in research output,” Quacquarelli Symonds Senior Vice-President Ben Sowter said.

“A downward trend in metrics for international faculty and students is apparent, signalling an imperative for university leaders and policymakers to focus on bolstering Hong Kong’s stature as a premier study destination to sustain its competitive edge on the world stage.”

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) surpassed the National University of Singapore in the new rankings, reclaiming its position as first runner-up after a five-year hiatus.

“The University of Hong Kong is Hong Kong’s most collaborative institution in terms of cross-border research …[it] is the highest-rated institution by both academics and employers alike,” Quacquarelli Symonds said.

The league table is determined by 11 indicators, including academic standing, faculty members with PhDs, graduate employability, research quality and productivity, as well as internationalisation on campus.

The company behind the list said the latest ranking was the largest it had produced and covered 856 institutions from 25 countries and territories, with 148 making the league table for the first time.

4 universities in Hong Kong rise in ranking of Asia’s top schools

Chinese University climbed two spots to secure tenth place, while City University (CityU) jumped six places to 17th. Polytechnic University rose to 23rd, and Baptist University to 64th.

Hong Kong Shue Yan University maintained its ranking band of between 351st and 400th.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) slipped one place to 15th, while Lingnan University dropped from 152nd to 167th. Hang Seng University of Hong Kong fell into the range of 601st to 650th.

Hong Kong Metropolitan University, the largest self-financing university in the city, made its debut in the rankings, landing between 701st and 750th.

Quacquarelli Symonds said the city’s universities had struggled slightly with research production, with CityU placing 38th and HKUST 97th in this area.

“These are the only Hong Kong universities to rank in the top 100 for this indicator,” it said.

The National University of Singapore fell to third place, while Nanyang Technological University, Singapore rose one spot to fourth, sharing the position with the mainland’s Tsinghua University, which dropped one place from last year’s second runner-up spot.

Peking University tops ranking for Asia as Hong Kong contenders all drop

A HKU spokesman said the university had consistently provided students with a top-notch education.

“HKU has proactively recruited distinguished scholars and talented young researchers from around the globe,” he said. “This year alone, the university welcomed over 90 scholars, who will contribute to teaching and research across a wide array of fields,”

A Chinese University spokeswoman said the ranking confirmed its international leadership in research and education, saying it would “continue to strive for excellence and strengthen cooperation and research with higher education institutions around the world to enhance its international research network and other indicators”.