Behind the Headlines
World University Rankings: What do they mean for Higher Education and Research?
The last decade has seen a rise in the prominence, and controversy, of world university rankings as a measurement tool for a university’s standing globally. Are the world university rankings an accurate measure of a university’s worth? The UK’s Higher Education Policy Institute’s (HEPI) latest report argues that they are not, but the rankings continue to gain currency globally. Should universities pay more attention to the rankings or forget about them? Are there better models out there? What do these rankings mean for students and Ireland’s higher education and research sector?
To gain a fuller picture of the growing world university rankings landscape, and their benefits and challenges, join our distinguished panel for a discussion on Monday, 13 February at the Trinity Long Room Hub.
- Ben Sowter (Head of Division, QS Intelligence Unit) leads the QS Intelligence Unit who are fully responsible for the operational management of all major QS research projects including the QS Top MBA Applicant and Recruiter Research, the QS World University Rankings® and the QS Asian University Rankings. Ben has travelled to over 40 countries and spoken on his research in over 20. He has personally visited over 35 of the world’s top 100 universities.
- Ellen Hazelkorn is Policy Advisor to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and Emeritus Professor and Director, Higher Education Policy Research Unit (HEPRU), Dublin Institute of Technology (Ireland). She is President of EAIR (European Higher Education Society), and on the Advisory Board and the Management Committee, Centre for Global Higher Education (CGHE), UCL Institute for Education, in addition to being an International Co-Investigator.
- Mike Jennings has been General Secretary of the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) since 2007. He is also a member of the Executive Council of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. He serves as European Treasurer / Vice President of ETUCE, the European Region of Education International. He is also a member of the advisory group on International Co-operation established by the European Higher Education Area as part of the Bologna Process.
