Survey: USM, UM up in employability ranking

UM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Hamdi Abd Shukor

MALAYSIAN universities continue to soar in global rankings.

In the latest Global Employability University Ranking and Survey (GEURS), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and Universiti Malaya (UM) were ranked 178th and 217th, respectively, a jump from their previous 191st and 226th position, respectively.

Expressing his delight at the varsity’s impressive performance, UM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Hamdi Abd Shukor said the achievement indicated that the varsity’s efforts in making its students more attractive in the job market was bearing fruit.

“Apart from producing aspiring leaders, we emphasise developing students with strong digital literacy and subject specialism skills.

“We are talking about students adopting online learning as a way of life, which is defined by their online learning experience,” he told StarEdu.

He described teaching and learning as one of UM’s most important pillars in helping students adapt to the new norms of e-learning.

The concept isn’t new to Malaysia’s oldest university as Prof Mohd Hamdi said UM has been practising blended learning since 2012.

“We were relatively well prepared when the Covid-19 pandemic forced the closure of all higher education institutions in the country.

“Our students have been immersed in various aspects of blended learning since the varsity started using the Learning Management System to manage teaching and learning.

“This in turn translates to better (digital) adaptation in the workplace where our graduates no longer have to learn from scratch – something that most employers do not appreciate,” he added.

The GEURS is run by higher education HR consultancy, Emerging, and published by the Times Higher Education (THE).

The survey revealed the world’s top 250 universities according to recruiters.

The 11th annual survey was carried out across 23 countries and regions, resulting in 118,196 votes cast by 10,928 international recruiters and managers supervising five or more graduates a year, THE said in a statement on Nov 24.

These recruiters and managers selected up to 15 universities from a list of 2,000.Emerging managing partner Sandrine Belloc said the GEURS addresses student needs in identifying universities that offer the best prospects for future employment.It shows that indicators such as digitalisation, specialisation and soft skills are increasingly important, more so than the prestige of a university’s name, she said.

THE content editor Seeta Bhardwa said the ranking provides a means to understand what’s important to graduate recruiters.

“It helps students think about what they should focus on when choosing a university to give themselves the best possible start on the career ladder,” she added.