Taylor’s University retains Malaysia’s #1 spot in global rankings

Taylor’s University continues to bolster its overall reputation in global higher education with a repeat outstanding performance, as the university leaped a further 47 spots to rank 332 globally in the QS World University Rankings 2022. The institution remains in the top league of universities in the world, placed at the top 1.1% amongst the most influential institutions, globally – continuing its reign as the leading private university in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.

Taylor’s sees continuous growth in three areas: International students, Faculty-Student ratio, and Employer Reputation. In its first, Taylor’s achieves one of the world’s top 100 Employer Reputation scores for the first time, now at the 90th spot.

Earlier this year, the university retained its Top 20 world ranking in the Hospitality and Leisure Management subject in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2021 – making it the only university in Malaysia, and Southeast Asia, to be in the Top 20 ranking. The same rankings also indicated that the Taylor’s Business School is the top private business school in Malaysia.

Taylor’s broke into the Top 50 in the QS World University Rankings Top 50 Under 50 at #49 as the only Malaysian private university to be ranked in the Top 50; and anticipating a climb in ranks for the 2022 edition at the end of the month. The university is also currently ranked in the Top 90 at the 89th spot in the QS Asia University Rankings 2021 –achieving its target in advance.

Taylor's University Vice Chancellor and President, Professor Michael Driscoll, believes that the university's strategy of curriculum innovation, and nimble response to the evolving education landscape has ensured its consistent success in this area.

“The latest QS World University Rankings once again confirms Taylor’s University as the best private university in Malaysia and Southeast Asia. The ranking body also recognises the world-class education we provide for our students. My congratulations go to all the staff, students, and partners of Taylor’s for their continued commitment to excellence.”

“This latest achievement has come at a time where industries and universities have successfully innovated and adapted to the mode of delivering hybrid learning for their students, anywhere around the world. A year on into the COVID-19 pandemic, we have prioritised mobilising and support learning continuity by introducing radical reforms to our approach to teaching and learning,” he said.

Taylor’s is one of the few Asian universities to be awarded the QS 5 Stars rating for Online Learning. The award is testament to the institution’s direction in its teaching and learning approach, where e-learning has taken centrestage. The current unprecedented pandemic has accelerated the university’s latest approach in its new Taylor’s Curriculum Framework, developed to encourage student independent learning.

COMMUNITY AT THE FOREFRONT

Bridging the digital literacy gap within the surrounding community, Taylor’s University students developed a computer console called DuckiePi for school-going children from underprivileged communities in Petaling Jaya. The DuckiePi aims to provide a solution to make education accessible, as the lack of electronic devices result in children from disadvantaged families being unable to attend virtual classes or have little access to learning resources.

The DuckiePi project is a result of the Taylor’sphere ecosystem, aiming to nurture students’ intellectual, mental, and emotional growth in an atmosphere of creativity and collaboration – emphasising on entrepreneurship.

Every student will take up a Social Innovation module and have the opportunity to receive guidance with ideation, prototyping, funding and product commercialisation under the mentorship of Taylor’s Me.reka Makerspace, BizPod and Research & Enterprise – making Taylor’s University the first in the country to incorporate such modules into all degree programmes.

While TMM is a space equipped with relevant tools allowing students to explore creative and entrepreneurial ideas, BizPod mentor students to sharpen their business proposals and connect them to investors and venture capitalists, should they want to pitch for funding. Through Research & Enterprise, final-year students will have a chance to display their projects and products through Taylor’s InnoFest. Projects with potential for spin-off are also identified during the festival and these project teams will be coached to pitch to investors.

These avenues to create, innovate and to birth entrepreneurial ideas fits very well into the Taylor’s Curriculum Framework (TCF) that emphasises a broad-based learning experience through a borderless learning culture where students have the flexibility to study modules that they otherwise would not experience in a traditional degree – hence a student may graduate as an engineer with some culinary skills, or an IT specialist with marketing and psychological insights.

The university is aiming to further expand on its offerings across disciplines by introducing hybrid degrees, such as a degree in Robotic Design & Development, which seeks to marry IT and Engineering modules, giving its graduates the best of both worlds, while expanding their career options.

TCF also makes room for work-based learning for final-year students, exposing them to the industry by spending almost a year with industry partners – as part of their degree that will help them put a foot in the door with the networks they acquire. This allows students to work closely with industry experts to develop and integrate their knowledge and skills in multi-faceted areas – increasing the students’ flexibility to adapt to the current employment landscape.

Working with a group of specialised Life Skills Moderators, students develop skillsets needed to navigate challenges within the corporate and professional world. Students in their first year at Taylor’s are required to take Life Skills Modules, which sets the stage for students to start right and be equipped with social and personal capabilities to thrive in the volatile, complex, and ambiguous world. Students will have the opportunity to enter a journey of self-discovery, gaining foundational life skills, emotional intelligence and tools that will help with emotional well-being.

The Life Skills modules serve as a pre-requisite to the SHINE Award, a programme recognising graduates’ achievements in acquiring and applying holistic capabilities – also known as the Taylor’s Graduate Capabilities (TGC). It is complemented with self-directed and self-paced learning where students get to choose to participate in activities that are meaningful to them, supported by an award-winning portal which helps them to organise, manage and track their involvement and achievement in recognised co-curricular activities using the SHINE Points system.

Students’ achievements in both the curriculum and co-curriculum are integrated and attested in the Graduate Capabilities Attainment (GCA) Statement, where it provides evidence of their achievement in acquiring and applying TGCs. The GCA will give future employers insights into our graduates’ holistic capabilities and, make a more informed decision during their hiring process, in a world where “A”s alone are no longer enough. The SHINE Award is the first-of-its-kind programme in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.