Universiti Malaya aims to break into the top 50 of the world’s universities by next year, says Higher Education Minister Zambry Abd Kadir.
KUALA LUMPUR: Universiti Malaya (UM), currently ranked 58th globally, is targeted to break into the top 50 of the world’s universities by next year.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir said the target aligns with the university’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its culture of academic excellence, research, innovation and holistic talent development.
“Universiti Malaya is ranked among the top 100 in the world. Most recently, it is 58th. Previously, it was in the 60s and 70s. Now it is 58th and maybe next year it will be in the top 50 in the world. Keep striving,” he said when officiating the Universiti Malaya Ideas Festival 2026 (UM iFEST 2026) at Dewan Tunku Canselor, Universiti Malaya, here today.
Commenting on the direction of higher education in the country, Zambry said that the progress of modern civilisation no longer depends solely on natural resources but is anchored in the generation of ideas that translate into high-impact solutions.
To strengthen this narrative, he cited the vision of British statesman Sir Winston Churchill and academic Professor Dr Wilhelm Krull on the transition of global civilisation towards the mastery of thought.
“What did he (Winston Churchill) say? ‘The empires of the future will be the empires of the mind.’ In other words, the empire of ideas,” he said, adding that the current educational revolution and technological advances stem from a university’s ability to produce forward-thinking inventions.
In this regard, Zambry praised the organisation of UM iFEST 2026, which was fully driven by the university’s undergraduates, describing the programme as an important platform for advancing a more progressive higher education sector.
“We want to see our undergraduates, the talents within our universities, constantly developing. These innovative efforts are carried out under the theme ‘Unleashing Ideas, Igniting Change.’
“This is a massive concept that is hoped to yield great results in our context of producing higher education that is more progressive, innovative and high-impact,” he said.
