National Taiwan University (NTU) has been ranked 40th in the world in the Times Higher Education (THE) World Reputation Rankings 2020 released Tuesday, improving from its ranking in the 51st to 60th grouping last year.

According to the Times Higher Education website, the 2020 rankings are based on a survey that invites scholars to name universities that they believe to be the best for research and teaching in their field.

This year the rankings have been expanded to include 200 universities, up from 100 in previous years, the website said.

While NTU saw its ranking improve, three other Taiwanese universities were listed in the rankings for the first time -- National Tsing Hua University, National Chiao Tung University, and National Cheng Kung University.

All four were ranked between 151st and 175th place. The Times Higher Education list does not assign specific rankings to universities ranked outside the top 50.

The top five universities by reputation in the world are Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of Cambridge, and University of Oxford.

The next five are almost the same as last year, mostly institutions in the U.S. and U.K., with the exception of one new entry from Asia in 10th place -- the University of Tokyo.

Rupert Younger, the founder and director of the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation, said this is a time when COVID-19 can rebuild the reputation of universities.

Younger argued that universities during the COVID-19 pandemic are facing criticism that graduates are not equipped with the necessary skills needed to succeed in the future workplace and that student debt is not worth the investment.

"Universities have to build real partnerships with the world their students seek to enter after graduation" and "rethink their relationships with the commercial world.”





London, Nov. 3 (CNA)
https://focustaiwan.tw/culture/202011040008