By Mahadhir bin Monihuldin
GOMBAK, 28 February 2018: A momentous achievement has successfully been seized as IIUM ranked 31st in the QS World University Rankings 2018 under the subject of Theology, Divinity and Religious Studies, a full 15 notches above the ranking it had achieved last year.
This feat falls as an achievement for the Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences (KIRKHS) wherein the Theology, Divinity and Religious Studies programmes are located.
The Dean of KIRKHS, Prof. Dr. Mohammad Abdul Quayum, shared his satisfaction upon hearing the achievement that IIUM was able to attain.
“This is a huge moral boost for us because as academics nothing is of greater importance to us than to make our mark in the global academia,” he said.
“It invigorates our identity as academics and motivates us to work harder and try to achieve more in the future, and Insya Allah this will be reflected in our ranking in 2019.”
Dr. Quayum was quick to spotlight the catalysts that have allowed IIUM to achieve the 31st ranking – IIUM’s strong branding status worldwide, a reputable group of Alumni which has graced the name of the university, a high quality assemble of lecturers, an esteemed line-up of academic journals filled with intellectual content, and a fruitful set of collaborative programmes made throughout the past year.
Despite the success, Dr. Quayum strives to elevate KIRKHS even higher for the year to come.
“The Faculty’s aspiration is to break into top 20 next year. We are taking all measures to ensure that our scores improve in all the areas, especially in our publications and citations which will definitely help to boost our ranking by several notches.”
Overall, IIUM’s score breakups for the QS Ranking this year are as follows:
Academic Reputation: 79.10 (rank 33)
Employer Reputation: 95.80 (rank 5)
Citations Per Paper: 29.50 (rank 98)
H-index Citations 45.50 (rank 94)
***