UTAR continues to make its mark in the global stage of education and science, particularly in interdisciplinary research—rising from its 2025 ranking of #301–350 to #189 in the Times Higher Education’s (THE) Interdisciplinary Science Rankings (ISR) 2026.
The ISR 2026 encompasses 911 institutions from 94 economies.
Introduced in 2024, ISR is a project launched by THE in association with Schmidt Science Fellows (SSF). It aims to promote scientific excellence and foster more collaborations between institutions worldwide. In line with other rankings published by THE, this ranking system also helps institutions benchmark their interdisciplinary scientific work.
Building on the ISR 2025, the latest ranking considered not only interdisciplinary research in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields, but also research that integrates STEM and non-STEM disciplines. It attracted a larger pool of participating institutions compared to the previous edition, which recorded 749 institutions.
UTAR President Ir Prof Dato’ Dr Ewe Hong Tat said in his remarks, “Beyond education, research plays a pivotal role in driving innovation and empowering holistic experience at UTAR. The University may be a rather young institution, but we have come a long way all thanks to the unwavering support of our staff, students, and communities.”
He added, “Since its foundation, UTAR has established more than 140 foundation, undergraduate, and postgraduate programmes, spanning arts and social studies, education, business and finance, management, engineering, technology, agriculture, science, and health sciences. As we continue to broaden our academic horizons, we remain committed to navigating emerging global challenges through diverse research to shape a transformative and sustainable future. The recognition by THE further affirms our long-standing vision of driving interdisciplinary collaborations that better serve global communities.”
UTAR houses various world-recognised and experienced scholars who actively contribute to the advancement of interdisciplinary research. For instance, 27 UTAR researchers were listed among the world’s top 2% scientists in 2025 by Stanford University. In the STEM fields, the University currently has 14 Fellows of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM), six members of the Young Scientists Network-Academy of Sciences Malaysia (YSN-ASM), and 31 Fellows of the ASEAN Academy of Engineering and Technology (AAET).
In the past 14 years, a total of seven researchers received the Science and Technology Award—a prestigious award honoured annually by the Malaysia Toray Science Foundation (MTSF) to two top local researchers. Meanwhile, as one of the pioneers in RFID, UTAR academic Prof Ts Dr Lim Eng Hock became the first Malaysian to receive the AIM Ted Williams Award in 2022.
The University’s academics and students continue to demonstrate excellence through innovative discoveries and projects, achieving milestones that inspire future research endeavours and foster solutions to real-world challenges. Some of these awards include the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) Regional Award, ASEAN Green Award (AGA), Cityscape Aerial Image Dataset for Object Detection Challenge (CADOT) Gold Award, Intel AI Global Impact Festival Gold Award, International Invention, Innovation and Technology Exhibition (ITEX) awards; Emerald Literati Awards, and ViTrox Prestigious Awards.
The University is involved in a myriad of impactful projects, including the Revolutionary 3D Multi-Material Printing System project (Research Project of the Year 2025: STEM award, by THE), the UTAR-NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) Calibration and Validation Programme, the “Shokuiku”food and nutrition education programme with Japan’s institutions, and the UTAR-Masteel-Ace Gases Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) technology development project.
UTAR extends its deepest gratitude to all members of the university community for their unwavering contributions and collaborative spirit, which have shaped the University’s ever-growing journey and continue to pave the way for a bright future.
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