Singapore's NUS ranked top university in Asia

The National University of Singapore was ranked the No. 1 university in Asia for the first time, overtaking the University of Hong Kong, according to the World University Rankings by London-based education consultancy Quacquarelli Symonds.

The rankings released on Tuesday saw the university moving up to 24th on the global list. Another Singapore university, the Nanyang Technological University, also jumped six spots in the global ranking to 41st in the world.

"HKU feels like a British university with large numbers of British faculty who have been there a long time and a more relaxed atmosphere. By contrast, NUS seems to be running faster than others. My suspicion is that at some point in the next 10 years, NUS will enter the top 20," the Straits Times quoted Ben Sowter, head of research at Quacquarelli Symonds, as saying.

Tan Eng Chye, provost of the National University of Singapore, said that the university was "pleased" with its performance, and that it was a reflection of Singapore's strong support for higher education.

"We will continue to keep a sharp focus on nurturing and recruiting talented academics, staff and students," he said.

Bertil Andersson, president of the Nanyang Technological University, said the ranking was "incredible" for the 22-year-old university.

"Recruiting top professors from all over the world boosts our reputation. These professors and researchers have also started to publish. Their research is recognized globally," he said.

On the global list, American universities took seven of the top ten places. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology maintained its top spot, followed by Harvard University, the University of Cambridge, University College London and Imperial College London.

The rankings were based on six indicators such as academic and employer reputation, student-faculty ratio, citations per faculty, international faculty and student mix. Academic reputation makes up 40 percent of the score, based on a survey asking academics to rate institutions in their fields of specialism.