Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofiah, Queen of Malaysia, presented the Leadership and Management Team of the Year trophy at Times Higher Education’s THE Awards Asia ceremony last night. Izmir Institute of Technology in Turkey took that most prestigious honour at the sixth annual awards in Malaysia.
The THE Awards have a 20-year history in the UK and Ireland and are widely known as the ‘Oscars of higher education’. Now firmly established in Asia too, these awards celebrate outstanding work across a wide range of university functions – covering academia, leadership and management, and the professional services.
It is important to note that Times Higher Education’s awards are unrelated to its suite of rankings, but they complement them by telling the inspirational stories that rankings cannot capture.
Profiles of the winning entries can be viewed here.
The full list of this year’s winners is:
- Leadership and Management Team of the Year: Izmir Institute of Technology (IZTECH), Turkey
- International Strategy of the Year: NUS Business School, Singapore
- Outstanding Contribution to Environmental Leadership: Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, India
- Outstanding Contribution to Regional Development: Hatyai University, Thailand
- (Highly commended: Dokuz Eylül University, Turkey)
- Outstanding Support for Students: Sunway University, Malaysia
- Research Project of the Year: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences: Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
- (Highly commended: Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong)
- Research Project of the Year: STEM: City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
- Student Recruitment Campaign of the Year: IPB University, Indonesia
- Teaching and Learning Strategy of the Year: National University of Singapore, Singapore
- Technological or Digital Innovation of the Year: Mabalacat City College (MCC), Philippines
- (Highly commended: Marmara University, Turkey)
The judges praised the clarity of vision from the leadership of Izmir Institute of Technology, and the adeptness with which it had been put into practice. Their strategy was based on an understanding of the potential not just of the institution, but also of the region in which it is based. That ambition, and the leadership shown by Iztech in mobilising resources and partners ranging from government to industry, was enormously impressive.
THE Awards Asia 2024 received well over 600 entries from individuals. teams and institutions, from 22 countries or territories. Singapore and Thailand achieved two wins each, and in addition to their victory in the headline category, two more Turkish universities were highly commended. Hong Kong also saw one win and another of its universities highly commended, with Indonesia, India, Malaysia and the Philippines seeing one winner each.
Phil Baty, THE’s chief global affairs officer said: “Five years ago, we launched THE Awards Asia to celebrate the continent’s most innovative and impressive higher education achievements. It came as no surprise that there was a wealth of praiseworthy projects, people and stories to be found all across the region.
"This year we received such a flood of excellent entries that I have to emphasise that our 10 winners – chosen through a rigorous and robust judging process – are but the primus inter pares, the first among a host of quality submissions that our experts singled out. There were many more gems among the contenders.
"As all our finalists prove, higher education attracts extraordinary people who, as they go about their work – whether that is undertaking and delivering brilliant research or ensuring that an institution runs smoothly and efficiently – know they can make a difference regionally, nationally and internationally, transforming countless people’s lives in positive ways.
"It also goes without saying that THE is incredibly proud to be able to promote this amazing work.”
Hundreds of finalists from all corners of the continent gathered in Malaysia for a glittering ceremony that closed the first day of the Times Higher Education Asia Universities Summit.