The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has again been ranked within the top 20 among the world’s top universities in Engineering and Technology, according to the 2010 Times Higher Education World University Rankings released yesterday. HKUST has risen 6 places, from 26th last year.

In the area of Engineering and Technology, the global top 3 universities are California Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University respectively. University of Cambridge is ranked 6th, University of Oxford 8th, Cornell University 12th, National University of Singapore 16th, Tsinghua University and HKUST both 20th, University of Tokyo 22nd, Peking University 25th, and National Taiwan University 46th.

The rankings were based on reviews and data related to teaching, research, citations, industry income, and international mix. Among the five areas, HKUST is strongest in citations – measured by the number of times its published work is cited by academics, and is widely recognized as a strong indicator of the research impact.

HKUST Dean of Engineering Prof Khaled Ben Letaief said, “Given that HKUST is a young university, we are very proud that Engineering has been ranked in the top 20 in the world 3 times over the past 7 years, thanks to the outstanding work of our faculty and students. This has rightfully earned the worldwide respect that the School of Engineering now enjoys.”