NUS and NTU rankings... Hahaha

[Prismatic]

Just want to add on to my previous post...

Basically, I don't really see the need to be in agreement or opposition to the result. Just take it as another way of comparing the universities.

However, in response to icer, just because it's published worldwide, it doesn't mean that it has to be accurate. Thousands of journals and papers are published worldwide every year, they don't necessary has to be the ultimate truth. They are still disputed and counter-argued all the same.

Just want to provide another illustration of another questionable part of the survey. In attracting foreign students and academics, is the cultural aspect of the equation being assessed too? If you were to consider attractiveness of universities, universities in unique-culture countries immediately suffer a handicap. For example, a lot of universities in Japan don't have a policy to attract foreign students. Does that mean universities like Kyushu Institute of Technology are considered less competent, even if they are one of the leading authorities on robotics? Or how many people will actually considering going to Yonsei University or KAIST in South Korea?

I say it's all relative. It's an option for people who can afford to choose where they want to go. For people who don't really have a choice to go, these ranking are almost irrevelant. However, being comfortable in a university doesn't mean that you can't be better off elsewhere. It's just that it's not an option.

 

[mpenza]

it's just a general rank. specific fields would differ greatly in the relative rankings.

 

[acroamatic]

This is the source: The Times Higher Education Supplement

Unfortunately, subscription service. Fortunately, free 14-day trial. You can even download the pdf of the whole ranking thing.

They've explained how they came up with the rankings, and they admit it's not perfect. They are also aware that they may not reflect specific strengths each university may have. I believe they will attempt to rank by course/degree in the coming year.

So, to the detractors, this time ST isn't trying to pull a fast one. The Times happened to choose criteria that are favourable to NUS. To those who are triumphant about the ranking, you might want to see how far behind we are from the top ten.

At the end of the day, it's the person coming out of the uni that matters, just like it's the person behind the camera (and not the brand) that matters...

 

[Yeowww]

engineermunn, i agree with u lah.

i believe there are many of such rankings being done by different organisation/companies around the world. But as usual, our media always choose the positive ones and highlight them. No 1 in this, top 10 in that. Notice never worse in anything.

So don pay too much attention to all these bull.

 

[Jed]

Plenty of factors to consider. As an insider/outsider looking in, I know a bit more about the NUS than many from this part of the world. And I know a fair bit about several western universities too. What the Singapore universities have going for them is abundance of funding, and the facilities are top notch and modern. In terms of sciences, I don't think there's any doubt that it is an excellent university.

Ironically, I prefer my alma mater to the NUS. For a reason that I'm sure wasn't even considered in the test, and strictly speaking is not exactly a "fair" test. My university had maybe 10% of the resources of the NUS, afforded maybe 80% of the teaching standard overall - although I was lucky, my faculty boasted some leading experts in their fields on an international level - but the main thing for me was, at the NUS I would have got a degree. By coming here I got an education. Both in terms of academically, which the NUS provides, as well as a more rounded view of the world and a different social culture. That's not the NUS's fault; no doubt it offers exactly the same advantage to a Caucasian studying there - but that's curiously very rare.

The NUS functions as a regional centre already, and if you could Malaysians and Indonesians etc as foreign students, that will weigh heavily. Compared to Western universities that attract less foreign talent for various reasons, and don't attract local foreigners (neighbours) because they usually have their fair share of universities.

Also, another issue for the East/West thing is saturation. Whether intended or not, the West has an excess quantity of universities. On the other hand, the East tends to have fewer universities per head which tends to focus the quality.

 

[mpenza]

thanks for the info. downloaded a copy liao

 

[serene]

:bsmilie:
Yo uris1982. In fact I graduated from Purdue and I did my Masters in NUS. I also did summer schools at Stanford and UC Berkeley. Does that mean that my statement carries alot more weight now? :bsmilie:

Whatever it is, having the privilege of comparing the few schools I've attended, NUS is really far from it. For one, the profs in NUS are not too willing to mentor , and always seem to be unavailable. Whereas other lecturers from the other unis automatically leave their contact numbers for all . Talk about quality......

I second your comment. I have the privilege of studying at NUS and now NTU (post grad) The foreign profs are very helpful and they left their contact numbers (line what you mentioned) but the local profs don't even bother to return calls/emails. I am generalising here though there are some local profs who are ever so helpful. But most foreign profs seem to have this passion for imparting knowledge. But the general impression from student point of view is more or less there. But again, the West have a longer tradition in formal education. Let's give our uni more time and encouragement.

 

[song]

I second your comment. I have the privilege of studying at NUS and now NTU (post grad) The foreign profs are very helpful and they left their contact numbers (line what you mentioned) but the local profs don't even bother to return calls/emails. I am generalising here though there are some local profs who are ever so helpful. But most foreign profs seem to have this passion for imparting knowledge. But the general impression from student point of view is more or less there. But again, the West have a longer tradition in formal education. Let's give our uni more time and encouragement.

i think our foreign profs are 90% PRC who in some part of their lives studies in the west before. How does this fit into your above comment?? I think the PRC profs are plenty in Sci, Med, Eng and Computing. I am refering to NUS

By the way, the 50% post-graduate is foreign..?? i think our foreigners are only from 2 countryies : PRC and India... Strait times claimed that NUS is diverse but then our foreigners are only from these 2 countries.. how diverse can it be?? I am hoping to see more South-east Asian... Thai, Malaysia, Philipines , Australia and Burma and vietnam and hk. In fact, the diversity is worst if you take out business faculty and arts. In Sci, Med and Eng, i bet there are at least 90% of the post-grad from china and india only, with china being the largest...

If we are really 18th, then it is these PRC people who represent NUS in the world. Singaporeans in NUS is a minority ,if you exclude undergrad. In the research and peer review world, it is mainly about post-grad and post-doc.

 

[FLiNcHY]

Well all my Indian friends at Georgia Tech think that NUS is a superb university. Me and my RJ friend could not believe it. But its true. NUS must be pretty well projected, at least around ASIA