2025

24 Sep

More UCSI academics make Stanford’s top 2% list

KUALA LUMPUR: 14 UCSI University academics are in Stanford’s World’s Top 2% of Scientists list for 2025, marking a 17% improvement from last year’s total of twelve.

They are: Distinguished Prof Dr Ooi Keng Boon, Assoc Prof Dr Eugene Aw Cheng Xi, Assoc Prof Dr Mehrbakhsh Nilashi, Senior Prof Dr Garry Tan Wei Han, Senior Prof Dr Richard Peter Bailey, Prof Dr Cham Tat Huei, Assoc Prof Dr Rashid Umer, Asst Prof Dr Ahsan Anwar, Prof Dr Eric Chan Wei Chiang, Distinguished Prof Dr Phang Siew Moi, Assoc Prof Dr Yeap Swee Pin, Assoc Prof Dr Shayla Islam and Assoc Prof Dr Elango Natarajan.

Breaking down the numbers, 10 UCSI academics made the world's top 1%, with Prof Ooi making the top 0.04%, Dr Aw in the top 0.12% and Dr Nilashi in the top 0.16%. Two more UCSI academics are also distinguished as top three researchers in Malaysia in their respective fields and subfields.

Prof Phang, UCSI deputy vice-chancellor (Research and postgraduate), maintains her position as Malaysia's top scientist in the subfields of marine biology and hydrobiology.

Prof Ooi, distinguished chair professor and director of UCSI’s Centre for Business Informatics and Industrial Management, continues to be ranked as Malaysia’s top researcher in the fields of business and management, and information systems.

Meanwhile Dr Nilashi, associate professor at UCSI Graduate Business School, has been ranked Malaysia’s leading researcher in the fields of information and communication technologies, AI and image processing, and information systems.

“This achievement reflects the dedication of UCSI academics and highlights our focus on research that addresses global challenges,” said Prof Phang.

“We will build on this momentum by strengthening our research culture and driving innovations that make a real-world impact.”

UCSI continues to distinguish itself as one of Asia's leading private universities, maintaining its position in the world's top 1% in the QS World University Rankings 2026.