UMPSA remains country’s No. 1 technical university

PEKAN, 9 October 2025 – Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA) remains the best technical university in the country, having held the No. 1 position among the Malaysian Technical University Network (MTUN) institutions for four consecutive years.

The Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2026, announced on 9 October 2025, listed UMPSA in the 601–800 range of the world’s best universities, also ranking it as the ninth-best university in Malaysia among both public and private institutions.

UMPSA is the 16th public university established by the government to offer higher education programmes focusing on Engineering and Technology, as well as serving as the nation’s Advanced (High-Level) TVET provider.

UMPSA Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dr. Yatimah Alias, said that this success further strengthens the university’s position alongside world-class universities while producing high-quality and impactful research and innovation at the international level.

“UMPSA’s improvement in the teaching indicator also reflects the quality of the university’s academic standards being recognised internationally.

“In addition, the impact of publications that are widely cited among academics, particularly in the fields of science and technology.

“This is proven as 25 UMPSA lecturers were listed among the world’s top two per cent of scientists under the Single Year Achievement category, with 15 of them also listed under the Career-Long Achievement category based on the Elsevier Database, Stanford University, recently,” she said.

In the Single Year Achievement category, UMPSA ranked among the top ten universities in Malaysia, with 25 lecturers making up the highest number of top two per cent scientists.

This achievement is a source of pride for the entire UMPSA community, which remains committed to excellence in teaching, industry collaboration, high-impact research development, and academic partnerships that have contributed to UMPSA’s continued success.

She also congratulated the UMPSA community on its various accomplishments, which have elevated the university’s reputation to new heights in higher education and global standing.

“In line with the university’s vision of becoming a leading technological university, UMPSA will continue to realise its aspirations for excellence through academic empowerment and impactful research outcomes, producing outstanding graduates who will become quality human capital driving national development.

“In addition, under the UMPSA Strategic Plan 2021–2025 and the UMPSA30 Framework, collaborative projects, technical capability enhancement, and product development utilising UMPSA’s technical expertise and industry knowledge will continue to be implemented to strengthen relationships between UMPSA and industry.

“UMPSA also focuses on impactful research, artificial intelligence (AI), and emerging technologies, particularly in the fields of energy transition, sustainability, and digitalisation,” she said.

Furthermore, UMPSA continues to strengthen its position towards becoming the hub of Advanced Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in the ASEAN region, anchored on academic excellence, global networking, and the ability to produce highly skilled graduates.

The Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings is a global rating system that evaluates university performance worldwide across teaching (29.5%), research environment (29%), research quality (30%), international outlook (7.5%), and industry engagement (4%).

By: Mimi Rabita Abd Wahit, Centre for Corporate Communications

Translation by: Dr. Rozaimi Abu Samah, UMPSA Press