According to the latest data from Essential Science Indicators (ESI), a leading global benchmark for academic quality, the University of Macau (UM) now ranks among the top 0.1% worldwide in engineering, computer science, and pharmacology & toxicology, up from its previous position in the top 1%. This achievement highlights the world-class status of these three research fields at UM.

ESI is an important indicator commonly used to evaluate the academic quality and influence of universities and research institutes. It is also one of the globally-recognised and important references for evaluating an institution’s academic development. The ESI database ranks institutions based on the citation frequency of their papers and includes only the top 1% most cited papers over the past 10 years. Currently, UM is included in the ESI database for 15 research fields, with engineering, computer science, and pharmacology & toxicology ranked in the top 0.1% worldwide.

UM attributes this achievement to its focused research strategy, which emphasises key technological areas and has produced outstanding results in industry-academia collaboration. In particular, UM has been committed to academic research and technological innovation in engineering. Through years of effort, the university has established a leading position in cutting-edge fields such as microelectronics, artificial intelligence, robotics, data science, intelligent manufacturing, green and low-carbon development, new energy, and new materials. This showcases its exceptional research capabilities and growing international influence. In the field of microelectronics, the State Key Laboratory of Analog and Mixed-Signal VLSI at UM has made significant achievements in core technologies such as data conversion, power management, wireless communications, and voice signal processing. Notably, UM ranked first among Chinese universities in terms of the number of papers accepted at the prestigious IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference in both 2023 and 2024.

In the field of computer science, UM has also made remarkable progress in recent years. In addition to rising to the top 0.1% in ESI, UM is ranked 101st in the 2024-2025 US News & World Report Best Global Universities Rankings for computer science. With the support of the State Key Laboratory of Internet of Things for Smart City and the Institute of Collaborative Innovation, the university has achieved breakthroughs and innovations in critical areas such as artificial intelligence, big data, and computing systems. UM is committed to advancing technologies for large-scale data processing and intelligent simulation, developing algorithms for large multimodal models, and designing efficient and reliable computing architectures. The university has not only published numerous papers in top-tier international journals and conferences, but has also successfully translated its research results into practical solutions.

In the field of pharmacology & toxicology, UM actively integrates immunology, neuroscience, synthetic biology, materials science, and artificial intelligence to drive innovative advancements in Chinese medicine research. Through the Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences and the State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, the university has established several prominent pharmaceutical research platforms. A notable example is the UM Centre for Pharmaceutical Regulatory Sciences, which is recognised by the Pharmaceutical Administration Bureau of the Macao SAR government to conduct third-party technical assessments for the registration of proprietary Chinese medicines. The centre is also the first research platform in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area dedicated to regulatory science and international drug registration strategies. The UM Macao Centre for Testing of Chinese Medicine also plays a key role in the field, offering a wide range of testing services, 118 of which are accredited by the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS). In addition, UM is ranked 33rd in the 2024-2025 US News & World Report Best Global Universities Rankings for pharmacology and toxicology, the highest ranking among universities in Hong Kong and Macao. The university’s rise to the top 0.1% in ESI further highlights its strength as a leading platform for pharmaceutical science research.

Currently, UM is included in the ESI database for 15 research fields. Among these, engineering, computer science, and pharmacology & toxicology are ranked in the top 0.1%. The other fields ranked in the top 1% are: social sciences, general; materials science; psychiatry/psychology; clinical medicine; chemistry; agricultural sciences; biology & biochemistry; environment/ecology; molecular biology & genetics; economics & business; geosciences; and mathematics.

Source: Communications Office