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NTU has rapidly risen the QS world rankings, vaulting 62 places since 2009. This year, NTU’s biggest improvements were in research citations per faculty, which moved up ten positions to 36th, and employer reputation, which rose eight places to 35th. NTU’s academic reputation climbed one place to 37th, while its international faculty ranking went up one place to 21st. 

NTU has been steadily climbing the various global league tables as it continues to strive for excellence in education, research and innovation, and for enhancing in the impact of its work within Singapore and around the world. This latest achievement in QS is yet another indication that NTU’s investment and efforts are being recognised, and that NTU continues to be highly regarded by academics and employers worldwide. 

Building on its record of rapid progress and accomplishments during the past quarter century, NTU’s current phase of growth in global stature began in January 2018 with the appointment of eminent American scientist and academic leader, Professor Subra Suresh, as its fourth president.  Prof Suresh and his new leadership team have introduced a number of new initiatives and programmes in education, research and innovation. The new leadership team, along with the academic units, has overseen within the past year and a half the recruitment of top talent to NTU, comprising highly accomplished faculty members from Singapore and around the world. The Presidential Post-doctoral Fellows programme, launched in 2018, has attracted applications from nearly 900 young scholars from top institutions around the world, for only 12 positions this year.

While no single ranking can fully reflect all aspects of a university’s performance, NTU’s strong momentum and upward trajectory have been consistently reflected in several  global rankings reported within the past year by independent international organisations that use different criteria and metrics. For example, in the annual rankings published a few months ago by US News and World Report, NTU was placed among the world’s Top 50 universities for the first time. In addition, NTU was chosen by US News and World Report to be among the top five institutions in the world in four major subject areas – materials science (first place), chemistry (second place), computer science (second place) and engineering (fifth place).

In March 2019, the University established the NTU Institute of Science and Technology for Humanity (NISTH) to study the impact of technology on society, and to bring industry, government and academia together to find ways to enhance the use of technology for the betterment of humanity and society. 

Striking new collaborations with pioneering global industry leaders such as Volvo Buses, HP Inc., Alibaba, and Roll Royce, the University’s eco-friendly campus has been transformed into the NTU Smart Campus, a living lab for the development and testing of advanced technologies.

Aspiring to become the greenest university campus in the world, the NTU Smart Campus has set an ambitious target to achieve a 35 per cent reduction in net energy consumption, net water use, and net waste generation by 2021 compared to the levels of 2011 for the entire campus. Frequently named among the top 15 most beautiful university campuses in the world, it has 57 Green Mark-certified (equivalent to LEED-certified) building projects comprising more than 230 buildings, of which 95% are certified Green Mark Platinum. 

Just last month, NTU launched a new waste-to-energy research facility that will turn municipal solid waste from the campus into electricity and resources. Working in partnership with various industry partners, the University is a hotbed of sustainable technologies with over 80 ongoing collaborative projects with industry linked to sustainability. 

These initiatives are aimed at seeking solutions to some of the most challenging problems facing the world. They may not have any direct influence on rankings, but provide clear demonstrations of how innovation arising from the learning and research activities within NTU’s classrooms and laboratories can be scaled-up and translated into tangible benefits for society.

NTU’s graduates are also highly sought after in the global workplace. About 90 per cent of the NTU Class of 2018 graduates found a job within six months of completing their final examinations. This is a reflection of employers’ confidence in the quality of education that NTU graduates receive.