NCKU Tops 2026 University Brand Power Rankings, Wins Best Brand Power, Regional Leadership, Academic System Benchmark, and Best Academic Cluster Awards
Written by Amy Lin. Image credit to NCKU News Center.
104 Corporation has released its 2026 University Brand Power rankings, with National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) emerging as the top performer. The university claimed first place and swept multiple prestigious categories, including Best Brand Power, Regional Leadership Award, Academic System Benchmark Award, and Best Academic Cluster Power Award, in both engineering and architecture & design, showcasing its exceptional educational achievements and significant social impact.
NCKU ranks first overall in the 2026 University Brand Power Rankings, winning Best Brand Power, Regional Leadership Award, Academic System Benchmark Award, and Best Academic Cluster Power Award.
The 2026 University Brand Power Awards Ceremony took place on the morning of Wednesday, January 7, 2026, at the W Hotel Taipei. NCKU President Meng-Ru Shen attended and accepted the awards on behalf of the university. In his remarks, President Shen expressed gratitude for the recognition and attributed the achievements to the collective efforts of NCKU’s faculty, staff, and students, as well as to its more than 220,000 alumni worldwide, over the university’s 94-year history. He emphasized that Taiwan’s future depends heavily on the development of higher education and called on fellow leaders in the field to continue bringing passion and vitality to the sector, strengthening Taiwan’s higher education system and, by extension, the nation’s prospects.
NCKU ranks first overall in the 2026 University Brand Power Rankings. President Meng-Ru Shen (right) accepts the award from Huang Yu-Chun (left), General Manager of 104 Corporation.
In the 2026 University Brand Power rankings, NCKU ranked first overall among 123 universities evaluated, winning first place for Best Brand Power. The university also topped the Academic System Benchmark Award for national comprehensive universities and the Regional Leadership Award for southern Taiwan comprehensive universities, while securing second place in the Best Academic Cluster Power Award. Within individual academic clusters, NCKU ranked first nationwide in both engineering and architecture & design, and third nationwide in mathematics & physical sciences, life sciences, earth & environmental sciences, and management.
NCKU’s top ranking in the University Brand Power evaluation reflects not only its long-term commitment to excellence in teaching and research but also underscores the strong trust and influence it holds among employers, industry partners, and the general public. According to 104 Corporation’s analysis, NCKU exhibited exceptionally consistent performance across key metrics. The university led the field in high-weight indicators, including job competency, future-ready skills, and academic cluster employability, while also excelling in medium-weight categories such as industry-academia collaboration and R&D capability. This solid foundation and comprehensive, well-balanced strengths secured NCKU’s position as the winner.
Presidents, vice presidents, and representatives from 38 universities gathered for the event.
According to 104 Corporation, university brand power represents the organic integration of institutional visibility and student appeal, reflecting the public’s perception and impression of a university. This perception is shaped by multiple dimensions, including the academic capabilities, employability, and character of students and alumni; the institution’s reputation, campus culture, educational philosophy, and resources; exposure through traditional media, social media, and word-of-mouth; as well as alumni salaries and representation in senior leadership positions.
This marks the third consecutive year that 104 Corporation has released the University Brand Power rankings. The 2026 evaluation employs 105 indicators across 12 major dimensions, covering job competency, future-ready skills, academic cluster employability, character strengths, visibility, academic reputation, industry-academia collaboration, R&D capacity, internationalization, senior leadership, sustainability, and academic cluster salary power. The comprehensive assessment draws on 4.18 million data points from 104 Corporation’s database, surveys of over 1,000 corporate HR professionals, publicly available data submitted by universities to Taiwan’s Ministry of Education, and international rankings including the QS World University Rankings, Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR).
Wang Jung-Chun, Chief Career Sustainability Officer at 104 Corporation, noted that all top 10 universities in the 2026 Best University Brand Power rankings are national institutions, with nine remaining unchanged from the previous year. This consistency demonstrates that university brand power requires long-term cultivation and cannot be built overnight.
Provider:
NCKU News Center
Date:
2026-01-16
