UNIVERSITI Teknologi Brunei (UTB) has been recognised as a four-star institution based on the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Star Rating system after scoring five stars in six out of seven categories, following rigorous and independent data collection and analysis of performance metrics as set out in the QS Stars methodology.
According to QS, QS Stars is an international rating system that provides institutions with a broader range of criteria that allows them to stand out in particular areas of excellence. It also provides students with a wider picture of an institution’s qualities.
UTB scored the maximum five stars in Teaching, Employability, Internationalisation, Facilities, Social Responsibility, and Inclusiveness.
This is a significant milestone for an institution that has been a university for less than 10 years.
Other universities that are rated four stars by QS include Universiti Utara Malaysia, Taylor’s University and Sunway University in Malaysia; Nottingham Trent University, London South Bank University, University of Hull, University of Huddersfield, University of Portsmouth and Coventry University in the United Kingdom; Western Sydney University in Australia; University of South Florida in the United States; University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines; and Thammasat University in Thailand.
Since 2010, the UK-based QS Intelligence Unit has rated more than 275 institutions in 45 countries.
According to the Deputy Director of Planning and Development Office at the UTB, Dr Lim Tiong Hoo, QS audits UTB on more than 50 different indicators with Employability as one of UTB’s best-performing categories, and a key component of its success.
UTB’s results in the Teaching category suggest an excellent teaching environment, with 140 points and five stars.
The university achieved full points in Faculty-Student Ratio, Satisfaction with Teaching and Overall Student Satisfaction.
In the Internationalisation category, UTB received 43 points for having at least 50 International Research Collaborations with QS Top 500 universities.
The university has students from 31 different nationalities on campus and thus achieved six points out of available 10 points.
Full points were also gained for International Faculty and International Students, where 44 per cent and 9.8 per cent of faculty and students respectively are international.
The Facilities category is another strong area for UTB, achieving nearly 100 per cent of available points and five stars.
The university offers excellent sports facilities, a good IT infrastructure, wide range of student societies, library facilities and easy access to medical facilities.
UTB also performed extremely well in Social Responsibility, with a perfect score of 50 points and five stars.
The university received full points for its community investment and development initiatives based on projects targeting the community.
The university was also awarded full points for its charity work and acts of goodwill.
UTB also garnered full points in the Regional Human Capital Development indicator, with 97 per cent of its graduates employed in the region.
The university has also achieved full points for awareness towards the environment.
UTB also achieved five stars in Inclusiveness which measures the accessibility of the university to students, particularly at scholarships and bursaries, disability access, gender balance and low-income outreach.
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