Indonesia's three most prominent universities were once again ranked among the world's top 400 institutions of higher education, but still remain a far cry from cracking the prestigious top 200 list.

The University of Indonesia (UI) rose significantly in the 2008 rankings published by the Times Higher Education Magazine-QS (THE-QS), climbing from 395th place in 2007 to 287th.

The Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) rose from 369th last year to 315th, while Gadjah Mada University (UGM), the country's oldest university, improved from 360th place to 316th.

THE-QS published its fifth annual top 200 university rankings last week.

The remaining list of the top 400 were publicly released Monday. However, many of the universities ranked have been notified in advance.

For the fifth straight year, Harvard University topped the rankings.

The top 10 has been largely dominated over the past few years by acclaimed institutions from the United States and England.

THE-QS' rankings are based on data gathered in the following categories: Peer academic review, recruiter review, international faculty ratio, international student ratio, student faculty ratio, and citations per faculty.

While the three Indonesian universities improved on their placement, their 2008 rankings are a far cry from their best showing in 2006 when UI, ITB and UGM ranked 250th, 258th and 270th respectively.

Even among their Asian counterparts, Indonesian universities lagged far behind.

The University of Tokyo was the top Asian university, in 19th place, while the National University of Singapore (NUS) was the top Southeast Asian institution, tying for 30th place with the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

Chulalongkorn University in Thailand for the first time broke into the esteemed top 200 list, placing a joint 166th with Germany's Universit*t Gottingen.

Fasli Jalal, the Indonesian National Education Ministry's director general for higher education, acknowledged the progress made during the past year.

"UI, for instance, proclaimed itself a research university. Research makes a big difference in the rankings. UI is also encouraging international publications, and it is going international by inviting more international students and lecturers," Fasli said.

UI rector Gumilar Rusmiwa Sumantri said he was hopeful that reforms and improvements would bolster the university's showing.

"If we continue doing this, we hope next year UI will be able to enter the top 200," Gumilar said in a phone interview with The Jakarta Post from Paris, adding he was informed of the rankings earlier this month.

"Why do universities in the U.S. and UK dominate the top spots? Not just because of their English publications, which are accessible to everyone, but also because of their significant research funds," Gumilar explained, noting the tax deductions available to philanthropists donating to universities.

He also cited the Japanese government's generous support of its universities, with state-owned institutions receiving 90 percent of their budget from public funds, while private ones can get a 20 percent government subsidy.

Top 10 world universities:

Top 5 Asian universities:

Source: THE-QS

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