Sunway University

Sunway University successfully hosted the AppliedHE Xchange 2025, a flagship gathering of higher education leaders, policymakers, and industry experts from across Asia and beyond. Building on last year’s momentum, this year’s theme “Together for Tomorrow: Excellence, Engagement, Evolution – Celebrating Leadership and Ranking Excellence” reflected a shared commitment to advance academic excellence, strengthen engagement, and champion transformative evolution within the global education ecosystem.

This year also marked the introduction of the Academic Road Trip (ART), a bold and dynamic initiative that brings academics and students together through collaborative learning journeys. ART aims to foster deeper understanding, shared experiences, and cross-border academic enrichment.

Participants were further engaged through a series of inspiring keynotes, expert panel discussions, and hands-on workshops, featuring leading voices in educational innovation, rankings, employability, and future-ready skills development.

A key highlight of the event was the official launch of the ALL ASIA Public & Private University Rankings 2026, which recognises 493 public and private institutions in Asia. The ranking evaluates institutions rigorously across six dimensions: Community Engagement, Employability, Student Satisfaction, Research Excellence, Internationalisation and Peer Recognition, placing student feedback and employability outcomes at the core of its methodology.

Responding to the growing demand for a more meaningful, student-centric evaluation of higher education in Asia, this new ranking marks a shift towards greater impact and real-world relevance. As the results were unveiled, Sunway University once again emerged as the top private Malaysian university in Asia, ranking sixth in Asia and reaffirming its position as a rising institution of impact and innovation.

Professor Sibrandes Poppema, President and Vice Chancellor of Sunway University, shared, “As a mission-driven 5th generation university, Sunway University is committed to empowering impactful research, building meaningful partnerships, and developing talent for the world. This event reflects our shared commitment and underscores the importance of institutions coming together to advance a better tomorrow for future generations.”

The AppliedHE Xchange 2025 concluded on an inspiring note, strengthening networks and reaffirming the region’s shared pursuit of excellence, engagement, and evolution in higher education.