The engineering university in the city of Khulna is placed second among engineering universities in Bangladesh in terms of citations per paper.

By making this leap, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET) has moved up 44 places to 370th in the QS World University Rankings: Asia 2027, further strengthening its position among engineering universities in Bangladesh.

The latest rankings, published by UK-based higher education ranking organisation Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) on 3 November, feature 1,722 universities across 26 education systems in Asia.

KUET’s new ranking marks an improvement over its position in the previous edition. Among engineering universities in Bangladesh, KUET ranks second after Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), which secured 179th place in the Asian rankings.

KUET also performed well in the citations per paper indicator, scoring 72.2 compared with BUET’s 57.0, according to the ranking data. The indicator measures the impact of research produced by the KUET community based on the number of citations its publications receive in scholarly journals.

The QS Asia University Rankings evaluate universities based on 11 criteria, including academic reputation, employer reputation, research quality, teaching environment and internationalisation.

Research and discovery account for 45% of the overall ranking, making it the most heavily weighted category. Within this category, academic reputation carries a 30% weight, citations per paper 10% and papers per faculty 5%.

KUET’s score of 72.2 in citations per paper is particularly noteworthy. Citations indicate how frequently research publications are referenced by other researchers and offer an insight into the impact of an institution’s academic output.

However, research impact is only one aspect of the evaluation. Employer and academic reputation, faculty-to-student ratio, the proportion of staff with PhDs, and the international representation of staff and students are also among the factors QS considers.

Bangladesh’s specialised engineering universities occupy several positions in the rankings. According to the university comparison data, their positions are as follows:

• BUET – 179th
• KUET – 370th
• Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) – 845th
• Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET) – 959th

KUET’s position places it ahead of the other specialised engineering universities listed in the comparison, while BUET maintains its lead.

The rankings also reflect the wider challenges facing Bangladesh’s higher education sector.

The 2027 edition includes 52 Bangladeshi universities, highlighting the country’s growing presence in international university rankings.

However, the overall findings suggest that Bangladesh’s education sector still has a long way to go in addressing challenges related to internationalisation, faculty-to-student ratios and the international visibility of academic research.

KUET’s rise by 44 places to 370th in Asia signals an improvement in its regional standing. Its performance in research citations also highlights the importance of strengthening research quality alongside academic development and teaching standards.

Sustaining this progress will depend on stronger international collaborations, increased research output and improvements in academic infrastructure. Greater engagement with the international academic community will also be important.

KUET’s new position is therefore both a milestone and a benchmark in its pursuit of excellence in engineering education and research.