The system aims to help higher education institutions define and manage their strategic goals toward ranking among the top 100 universities in Asia. It involves eight groups of criteria and 54 specific indicators. The 8 criteria are strategic administration; training; research; innovation and creativity; innovation and creativity ecosystem; information technology and digital resources; internationalization level; and community services.

UPM was developed by a research team at Vietnam National University-Hanoi under the sponsorship of a national educational science program chaired by the Ministry of Education and Training.

So far 40 universities in Vietnam and other ASEAN nations have adopted the UPM system.