TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — National Taiwan University (NTU) fell 74 spots to No. 187 on The Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2023, but was still Taiwan’s highest-rated college on the list, reports said Wednesday (Oct. 12).

The table, evaluating more than 1,600 universities in 99 countries, was based on 13 performance indicators focusing on teaching, research, knowledge transfer, and international outlook, the publisher said.

On the 2022 list, NTU came in at No. 113, but this year it lost ground to end up at No. 187, though remaining Taiwan’s best-placed school overall. Oxford University remained at No. 1 for the seventh year running, followed by Harvard at No. 2, and a joint No.3 position for Cambridge and Stanford.

China Medical University, based in Taichung, was ranked second among Taiwanese schools, moving up to a position between No. 251 and No. 300. Taipei Medical University ranked third, while Asia University in Taichung City’s Wufeng District moved up to fourth place, ahead of National Tsing Hua University and of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, CNA noted.

NTU reacted to its drop compared to last year by saying it planned to strengthen international cooperation to improve its visibility and influence. The indicators related to teaching and research took up the lion share of the university’s decline in the rankings, CNA reported.