The Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad has been ranked 496th among the 500 Best Global Universities for 2015, according to the US News and World Report, a leading publisher of education analysis and rankings.

The university has moreover been ranked the 89th best university in Asia.

The rankings were unveiled at the World Innovation Summit for Education in Doha. It allows prospective students and their parents to compare institutes before making their higher education choice. It also presents the comprehensive assessment of higher education institutions in the world.

Brian Kelly and Robert Morse, the publication house’s representatives, unveiled the ranking at the summit.

In the Asian region, the rankings include 112 universities. Of them, University of Tokyo stands first. Among the Best Global Universities for 2015, the University of Tokyo is 24th. This is followed by Peking University, Beijing (No 39 in world), University of Hong Kong (No 42 in world), National University of Singapore (No 55 in world), Kyoto University, Japan (No 60 in world), Tsinghua University, China (67 in world), Seoul National University, South Korea (No 72 in world), Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, (No 102 in world), the National Taiwan University, Taiwan (No 105 in world) and Fudan University, China (No 108 in world).

There are five Indian and as many Iranian universities in the rankings but way ahead of the QUA. India’s University of Delhi claimed the top spot with No 316 in the world rankings, followed by Indian Institute of Science (323), Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (405), and Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (484).

Iran’s universities include the University of Tehran (360), Sharif University of Technology (377), Isfahan University of Technology (472), and Amirkabir University of Technology Iran (472).

“The main focus is on factors that measure research productivity and performance,” Mr Kelly told Dawn.

“The ranking aims at helping students to make a better decision before enrolling for their higher education,” Mr Kelly said.

About Pakistan higher education system, he said the Higher Education Commission had brought about good reforms in the sector but it needed to work more to instill the culture of research at under- and post-graduate level.