Malaysian HEI Performance in Rankings and Entrepreneurship

Rankings and the U21 Ranking of National Higher Education Systems—while also evaluating entrepreneurial outcomes in line with the Malaysia Higher Education Blueprint 2015–2025. The research investigates two main areas: the global standing of Malaysian universities and the impact of entrepreneurship initiatives in HEIs. The findings reveal significant progress in global rankings. The number of Malaysian universities featured in the QS World University Rankings increased from 6 in 2016 to 20 in 2020, with the University of Malaya breaking into the top 100. Malaysia consistently ranked 27th out of 50 countries in the U21 report from 2016 to 2020, positioning third in Southeast Asia. Despite these advancements, challenges remain in research output and citations per faculty. in entrepreneurship, Malaysia has surpassed key performance indicators (KPIs) outlined in the blueprint. The proportion of students engaged in entrepreneurial activities rose from 3% in 2016 to 10.2% in 2019, while the number of graduate entrepreneurs increased from 2.5% to 4.68% over the same period. Moreover, 2,079 academic staff received entrepreneurship training, exceeding the target of 1,500. The study concludes that while Malaysian HEIs have made substantial strides in both global rankings and entrepreneurship, further improvements, particularly in research output and international collaborations, are essential to meet the aspirations of the Higher Education Blueprint by 2025.