THE Awards Asia 2026
"When we created the Times Higher Education Awards Asia, our aim was to celebrate the rich diversity of the continent’s universities and to showcase excellence that is not always fully captured by traditional measures of esteem. This year’s winners, in the eighth edition of these awards, arguably realise these ambitions more fully than ever before.
For the very first time, the deliberations of our expert judging panel presented us with 10 victors from 10 different countries and territories, with our garlanded institutions stretching from the shores of the Aegean Sea to the Pacific Ocean. On the podium this year, several of Asia’s most prestigious universities rubbed shoulders with some of the region’s less celebrated but equally innovative and impactful campuses. It is gratifying to see Vietnam claim its first ever victory in our headline Leadership and Management Team of the Year category, and just its second overall since these awards were launched in 2019.
And, as you will read below, our winners have blazed a trail through initiatives of astonishing variety, from developing groundbreaking antiviral treatments to building understanding of Kerala’s forest tribes. They have brought the transformative power of education to the furthest corners of Pakistan and perfected the finer points of high-end culinary training.
This, of course, represents just the cream of the crop from shortlists bursting with distinction across the full range of university activities. Collectively, our winners’ stories offer fresh confirmation of the health and vibrancy of Asia’s higher education sector, and leave little doubt that universities across this vast continent will hit even greater heights in the years to come."
– Chris Havergal, Editor, Times Higher Education
The winners were announced on 22 April 2026 at The Henderson's Cloud 39 in Hong Kong. Click on the category names below to read abridged versions of the shortlisted submissions.
Read in-depth winners' profiles curated by our editorial team.
International Strategy of the Year
Chiang Mai University
IIMT University
KIIT University
Lovely Professional University
Macao Polytechnic University (winner)
National Taiwan University
O.P. Jindal Global University
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
Leadership and Management Team of the Year
Duke-NUS Medical School
Hiroshima University
Hitit University
Holy Cross of Davao College
IIMT University
Nanjing Tech University
Phenikaa University (winner)
Seoul National University
Most Innovative Teacher of the Year
Aftab Amin, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Yang Hongsuk, Seoul National University
Praveen Kulkarni, JSS Academy of Higher Education & Research
Pauline Luk, University of Hong Kong (highly commended)
Haze Ng, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Benyakan Pongkitwitoon, Mahidol University
Rosszen Yorkah N Rivera, Lyceum of the Philippines University Cavite (winner)
Pannawit Sanitnarathorn, Assumption University
Outstanding Contribution to Environmental Leadership
Beaconhouse National University
Hiroshima University
İzmir University of Economics (winner)
Kyung Hee University
LSPR Institute of Communication and Business
National University of Singapore
Prince of Songkla University
Ubon Ratchathani University
Outstanding Contribution to Regional Development
Chiang Mai University (highly commended)
Duke-NUS Medical School (winner)
IIMT University
Lyceum of the Philippines University Cavite
Naresuan University
The Chinese University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong and the University of Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Outstanding Support for Students
Chiang Mai University
Christ University
Hiroshima University
King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang
Lahore University of Management Sciences (winner)
Lovely Professional University
Nanjing Tech University
University of Makati
Research Project of the Year: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Beaconhouse National University
Huachiew Chalermprakiet University
Lahore University of Management Sciences
Lovely Professional University (winner)
Nakhon Ratchasima Rajabhat University
Nazarbayev University
Ubon Ratchathani University
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
Research Project of the Year: STEM
Chulalongkorn University
Davao Oriental State University
Hiroshima University
IIMT University
Nazarbayev University
Oguz Han Engineering and Technology University of Turkmenistan
Seoul National University (winner)
Suranaree University of Technology
Teaching and Learning Strategy of the Year
Almaty Management University (winner)
Hiroshima University
Hong Kong Baptist University (highly commended)
IIMT University
Lovely Professional University
Seoul National University
Singapore Management University
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Technological or Digital Innovation of the Year
Erciyes University
King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang
Lingnan University (winner)
Monash University Malaysia
The Education University of Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Ubon Ratchathani University
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia