Employability, social impact reshape global university rankings

Global university rankings are shifting toward employability and social impact as AI changes workplaces. QS says it is expanding how it measures graduate outcomes, while THE is broadening its methodology to capture sustainability and community impact. Korean universities were highlighted as strong with employers and in patents and research income, but weaker in international collaboration and in turning reputation into outcomes.

QS currently assigns 20 percent of its World University Rankings weight to employability and is exploring more detailed measures of graduate employment, alumni impact and career-skill alignment.

Leigh Kamolins said QS is analyzing about 500 million job postings and data on tens of millions of alumni to track employer demand and graduates’ career paths.

QS data showed nearly every Korean institution performs better in employer reputation than in actual graduate outcomes, and only about a quarter of Korean universities are currently ranked by QS.

THE revised its methodology in 2023 to better capture research quality, knowledge transfer and internationalization, including a measure of how often university research is cited in patents.

THE said Korean universities stood out in patents, research income and industry income, but international collaboration remains a weak spot, especially in international co-authorship.

Published Sep 16, 2026 3:53 pm KST

Korean schools weigh global benchmarks against push to build distinctive strengths

Leigh Kamolins, front row fifth from left, vice president of evaluation and insights at Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), and Samuel Ang, first front row left, regional director for Asia at QS, pose with representatives of Korean universities during the special session of the 2026 Korea Times Global Conference at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry building in Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Global university rankings are looking beyond traditional measures of academic excellence, placing greater emphasis on how universities prepare students for a changing job market and contribute to society as artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes workplaces.

But emerging and regional universities still face the challenge of balancing performance on common ranking criteria with efforts to develop and showcase their distinctive strengths.

Representatives of Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and Times Higher Education (THE) pointed to a broader shift in how university performance is measured, with QS placing greater emphasis on graduate employability and THE highlighting universities’ sustainability and wider social impact.

The two global ranking organizations outlined the changes during special sessions held following the 2026 Korea Times Global Conference, while also assessing the strengths and weaknesses of Korean universities.

QS identified employability as a growing focus in global rankings. It currently accounts for 20 percent of the QS World University Rankings, but the organization is exploring more sophisticated measures of graduate employment, alumni impact and how closely graduates’ careers align with skills gained in university.

Leigh Kamolins, vice president of evaluation and insights at QS, said the organization is analyzing some 500 million job postings and data on tens of millions of alumni to better track employer demand and graduates’ career paths.

“What we measure in rankings needs to evolve to reflect the changing nature of employment,” he said.

The shift could open new opportunities for Korean universities, which have strong reputations among employers. But QS data showed that nearly every Korean institution performs better in employer reputation than in actual graduate outcomes, underscoring the need to turn that recognition into tangible career results.

“There’s a lot of opportunity for Korean universities to expand their global presence, as only about a quarter are currently ranked by QS,” said Samuel Ang, regional director for Asia at QS.

Mei Mei Lim, left, APAC region president of THE, and Ashley Mok, vice president for consultancy in APAC region at THE, deliver a briefing about the organization's change in rankings during a special session of the 2026 Korea Times Global Conference at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry building in Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Meanwhile, THE is broadening how it measures universities’ impact, with a growing focus on sustainability and their contributions to society.

While its World University Rankings remain centered on research excellence, THE revamped its methodology in 2023 to better capture research quality, knowledge transfer and internationalization. The changes included a new measure tracking how often university research is cited in patents, highlighting its impact beyond academia.

At the same time, THE’s Sustainability Impact Ratings look beyond academic performance to assess how universities contribute to society and their communities, based on the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.

“Universities have long been measured by their academic excellence and research, but the question is what impact they are actually having on their communities,” said Ashley Mok, vice president for consultancy in the Asia-Pacific region at THE.

Korean universities stood out in patents, research income and industry income, according to THE, but international collaboration remained a weak spot, particularly in international co-authorship.

“Internationally co-authored papers tend to be cited two, three, four or even five times more than domestically authored papers,” said Mei Mei Lim, APAC region president of THE, adding that such collaboration can also help strengthen universities’ global academic reputation.

The discussions also highlighted a dilemma facing emerging and regional universities as they seek to build distinctive strengths while competing under global ranking criteria largely designed to assess institutions on a common scale.

Representatives of Korean universities pointed out that rapid improvements in research, education and industry collaboration do not always translate quickly into global recognition, while distinctive institutional or regional contributions can be difficult to capture through conventional metrics.

Both QS and THE acknowledged the limitations of existing metrics and said their methodologies will continue to evolve as universities take on changing roles in rapidly changing era shaped by AI, demographic shifts and other global challenges.

随着人工智能改变职场，全球大学排名正转向关注就业能力和社会影响力。QS表示正在拓展衡量毕业生就业成果的方式，而泰晤士高等教育（THE）也在扩展其方法论，以纳入可持续性和社区影响等因素。韩国大学在雇主关系、专利和科研收入方面表现强劲，但在国际合作和将声誉转化为实际成果方面则略显不足。

QS目前在其世界大学排名中将20%的权重分配给就业能力，并且正在探索更详细的毕业生就业、校友影响力和职业技能匹配度衡量指标。

Leigh Kamolins 表示，QS 正在分析约 5 亿个职位发布信息和数千万校友的数据，以追踪雇主需求和毕业生的职业发展道路。

QS 数据显示，几乎所有韩国高校在雇主声誉方面的表现都优于毕业生实际就业情况，目前只有大约四分之一的韩国大学被 QS 排名。

2023 年，THE 修订了其方法，以更好地反映研究质量、知识转移和国际化，其中包括衡量大学研究在专利中被引用的频率。

上述韩国大学在专利、科研收入和产业收入方面表现突出，但国际合作仍然是一个薄弱环节，尤其是在国际合作撰写方面。

发布于2026年9月16日下午3:53（韩国标准时间）

韩国学校在权衡全球标准与努力打造自身独特优势之间取得平衡

周二，在首尔韩国工商会大楼举行的2026年《韩国时报》全球大会特别会议上，Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) 评估与洞察副总裁Leigh Kamolins（前排左五）和QS亚洲区总监Samuel Ang（前排左一）与韩国大学代表合影。照片由《韩国时报》摄影师沈铉哲拍摄。

全球大学排名不再仅仅关注传统的学术卓越性衡量标准，而是更加重视大学如何让学生为不断变化的就业市场做好准备，以及随着人工智能 (AI) 重塑工作场所，大学如何为社会做出贡献。

但新兴大学和地区性大学仍然面临着如何在满足共同排名标准的同时，努力发展和展示自身独特优势的挑战。

Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) 和 Times Higher Education (THE) 的代表指出，大学绩效的衡量方式正在发生更广泛的转变，QS 更加重视毕业生的就业能力，而 THE 则强调大学的可持续性和更广泛的社会影响。

两家全球排名机构在 2026 年韩国时报全球大会之后举行的特别会议上概述了这些变化，同时还评估了韩国大学的优势和劣势。

QS已将就业能力视为全球大学排名中日益重要的考量因素。目前，就业能力在QS世界大学排名中占比20%，但该机构正在探索更精细的衡量毕业生就业情况、校友影响力以及毕业生职业发展与大学所学技能匹配程度的方法。

QS评估与洞察副总裁Leigh Kamolins表示，该机构正在分析约5亿个职位发布信息和数千万校友的数据，以更好地跟踪雇主需求和毕业生的职业发展道路。

他说：“我们在排名中衡量的标准需要与时俱进，以反映就业性质的变化。”

这一转变可能为在用人单位中享有盛誉的韩国大学带来新的机遇。但QS数据显示，几乎所有韩国高校在用人单位声誉方面的表现都优于毕业生实际就业情况，这凸显了将这种声誉转化为切实就业成果的必要性。

QS亚洲区总监Samuel Ang表示：“韩国大学有很多机会扩大其全球影响力，因为目前只有大约四分之一的韩国大学被QS排名。”

周二，在首尔韩国商工会议所大楼举行的2026年《韩国时报》全球大会特别会议上，泰晤士高等教育亚太区总裁林美美（左）和泰晤士高等教育亚太区咨询副总裁莫艾莉就该机构排名变化作了简要介绍。照片由《韩国时报》沈铉哲拍摄。

与此同时，泰晤士高等教育正在扩大其衡量大学影响力的方式，越来越关注可持续性及其对社会的贡献。

尽管泰晤士高等教育世界大学排名仍然以科研卓越性为核心，但该机构在2023年对其排名方法进行了改革，以更好地反映科研质量、知识转移和国际化程度。改革内容包括新增一项指标，用于追踪大学科研成果在专利中的引用频率，从而凸显其在学术界以外的影响力。

与此同时，泰晤士高等教育可持续发展影响评级不仅关注学术表现，还根据联合国可持续发展目标来评估大学对社会及其社区的贡献。

“长期以来，人们一直以学术卓越性和研究成果来衡量大学，但问题是它们对所在社区的实际影响是什么，”泰晤士高等教育亚太区咨询副总裁Ashley Mok表示。

据泰晤士高等教育报道，韩国大学在专利、科研收入和产业收入方面表现突出，但国际合作仍然是一个薄弱环节，尤其是在国际合作撰写方面。

“国际合作论文的引用次数往往是国内论文的两倍、三倍、四倍甚至五倍，”泰晤士高等教育亚太区总裁林美美表示，并补充说，这种合作还可以帮助提升大学的全球学术声誉。

讨论还凸显了新兴大学和地区性大学在努力建立独特优势的同时，在全球排名标准下展开竞争的困境，而这些标准主要旨在以统一的标准来评估院校。

韩国大学的代表指出，研究、教育和产业合作方面的快速进步并不总是能迅速转化为全球认可，而独特的机构或区域贡献可能难以通过传统指标来衡量。

QS 和 THE 都承认现有指标的局限性，并表示随着大学在人工智能、人口结构变化和其他全球挑战所塑造的快速变化的时代中扮演不断变化的角色，他们的方法论也将继续发展。