The 75 most innovative universities in Asia 2016

South Korea and Japan lead Reuters’ Asia innovation ranking

September 5, 2016
Ellie Bothwell
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View Times Higher Education's list of the top universities in Asia 2016

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has topped the Reuters Top 75: Asia’s Most Innovative Universities ranking, with the University of Tokyo and Seoul National University completing the top three.

The innovation league table aims to identify the universities that are doing the most to advance science, invent new technologies and help drive the global economy.

It follows on from Reuters’ list of the most innovative universities in Europe earlier this year and the most innovative universities in the world last year – a topic that Times Higher Education has also investigated in some depth.

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South Korea and Japan are the only countries that make the top 10 – the nations each claim five places in this elite cohort. The National University of Singapore is the top university outside these countries at 11th.

However, China is the most-represented country in the table with 22 institutions, including those in Hong Kong. South Korea and Japan each have 20.

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The list also includes institutions in New Zealand and Australia; their leading institutions are the University of Auckland in 27th and the University of Sydney at 28th respectively.

The Reuters top 75 most innovative universities in Asia 2016

Rank University Country
1 Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)   South Korea
2 University of Tokyo    Japan
3 Seoul National University  South Korea
4 Osaka University Japan
5 Pohang University of Science and Technology  South Korea
6 Tohoku University Japan
7 Kyoto University  Japan
8 Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) South Korea
9 Yonsei University   South Korea
10 Keio University   Japan
11 National University of Singapore Singapore
12 Tokyo Institute of Technology Japan
13 Tsinghua University China
14 Korea University South Korea
15 Hanyang University   South Korea
16 Peking University China
17 Gwangju Institute of Science & Technology South Korea
18 Kyushu University Japan
19 Nagoya University Japan
20 Hokkaido University Japan
21 Chinese University of Hong Kong China
22 Ajou University  South Korea
23 Zhejiang University China
24 Shanghai Jiao Tong University China
25 Kyung Hee University South Korea
26 Hiroshima University  Japan
27 University of Auckland New Zealand
28 University of Sydney  Australia 
29 University of Tsukuba Japan
30 Hong Kong University of Science and Technology  China
31 Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) Japan
32 Monash University Australia 
33 The University of Queensland Australia 
34 University of Melbourne Australia 
35 Nanyang Technological University Singapore
36 Fudan University China
37 Chonnam National University South Korea
38 Okayama University Japan
39 Shinshu University Japan
40 Kumamoto University Japan
41 Tianjin University China
42 Kanazawa University Japan
43 Ewha Womans University South Korea
44 Inha University   South Korea
45 East China University of Science and Technology   China
46 Chiba University Japan
47 Beijing University of Chemical Technology  China
48 Waseda University Japan
49 South China University of Technology China
50 Kyungpook National University   South Korea
51 Chonbuk National University  South Korea
52 University of New South Wales Australia 
53 Catholic University of Korea South Korea
54 Pusan National University South Korea
55 Nanjing University China
56 University of Hong Kong China
57 Huazhong University of Science and Technology China
58 Southeast University China
59 Konkuk University  South Korea
60 Kobe University  Japan
61 Dalian University of Technology China
62 Nankai University  China
63 Harbin Institute of Technology China
64 Xian Jiaotong University China
65 Chung-Ang University South Korea
66 Hong Kong Polytechnic University China
67 Sichuan University China
68 Sun Yat-sen University  China
69 Gyeongsang National University South Korea
70 Nihon University  Japan
71 Indian Institute of Technology India
72 Indian Institute of Science  India
73 Universiti Putra Malaysia Malaysia 
74 University of South Australia Australia 
75 University of Malaya Malaysia 
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