In the newly-released 2023 ShanghaiRanking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, the Macao Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM) ranks 42th globally in the subject “Hospitality and Tourism Management”, which is significantly higher than last year’s ranking of 51 – 75. In addition, IFTM also offers Dual Master’s Programmes with the University of Surrey from the United Kingdom and the University of Queensland from Australia, which rank 2nd and 8th globally in the above ranking. These collaborations open new doors for IFTM students to pursue global opportunities, and contribute to the enhancement of the quality of education.

The Global Ranking of Academic Subjects released by ShanghaiRanking is assessed by a series of internationally comparable and objective academic indicators, which measure the performance of global universities in related disciplines, including the total number of papers, category normalised citation impact, the proportion of international collaborative papers, the number of papers published in top journals, and the number of authoritative awards received by teachers. Over 90% of the total score is based on academic research.

IFTM has consistently achieved outstanding results in academic research. According to the “Evaluation of the International Impact of China’s Tourism Academic Research: A Statistical Study Based on SSCI Tourism Papers from 2001–2021”, IFTM ranks 6th in the “Affiliation list of authors (h index≥7) that published tourism academic papers in SSCI journals and its g index from 2001 to 2021”, which is the highest position for Macao. Moreover, IFTM scholars, Professor John Ap and Professor Wan Yim King Penny, are ranked as the World’s Top 2% Scientists in the discipline of Sport, Leisure, and Tourism which recently released by Stanford University, indicating their significant worldwide impact and contributions in the scientific field. IFTM has always attached great importance to the educational philosophy which emphasises both theory and practice. In addition to actively promoting research among its faculty and students, IFTM also places a high value on maintaining close communication with the tourism industry, regularly reviewing and reforming the curriculum according to the needs and changes of the industry. Furthermore, IFTM collaborates with the industry to provide students with different internship and exchange programmes both at home and abroad, so as to ensure that their knowledge and skills meet the requirements of the industry. As a result of these efforts, IFTM has received recognition over the years in the QS World University Rankings by Subject for Hospitality and Leisure Management, which emphasises on academic and employer reputation. In 2023, IFTM ranks 10th in the world, 1st in Asia and Macao.

IFTM expresses that the excellent results in various globally recognised authoritative lists affirm its educational philosophy of integrating theory and practice, as well as research achievements. IFTM will continue to enhance the quality of education and academic research, contributing to the development of the tourism industry in Macao and the world.