NUS grads now 15th most employable in the world

SINGAPORE — Graduates from the National University of Singapore (NUS) are more sought after by employers this year, with the university moving up two spots to rank 15th in the world for turning out employable students.

Nanyang Technological University came in 101st this year, the only other Singapore school placed among the 150 institutions in the Times Higher Education’s (THE) latest global University Employability Ranking, up 16 places from the 117th spot last year.

US institutions laid claim to all top three spots this year, with California Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University coming in first, second and third respectively.

US universities took 37 places in the 150-strong ranking, with six of them making it into the top 10, including Stanford University (5th), Yale University (6th) and Princeton University (9th).

NUS is the only Singapore institution to be among the global top 15 and the third Asian university, after University of Tokyo and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

The latest THE ranking released today is in its sixth year and measures how universities perform on graduate employability.

It is designed and commissioned by French human resource consulting agency Emerging and carried out by German market research firm Trendence.

The survey was conducted in April this year with 2,500 recruiters from 20 countries, and a second panel of 3,500 international managers around the world.

Survey participants were asked to define what they look for in graduates and choose the universities they believe produce the most employable graduates.

The companies that participated in the survey covered all major business sectors, had more than 5,000 employees each and recruited more than 50 graduates each year.

Pleased by the results, NUS deputy president (academic affairs) and provost Tan Eng Chye said the university stresses academic rigour, experiential and global learning, and real-world relevance.

He added that NUS has intensified efforts over the past few years to prepare students for a dynamic and fast-changing workplace of the future through programmes such as its Overseas Colleges Programme, where students get a chance to work in fast-growing companies in high-tech hot spots around the world.

Professor Tan added: “We will continue to pioneer fresh approaches to inculcate in our students a future-ready mindset, so that NUS graduates will continue to excel in their work roles and make valuable contributions to their organisations and the society at large.

Global University Employability Ranking 2016 results: