"Ranking and Differentiation in Higher Education, Research and Knowledge Utilisation"
The 3rd International Symposium on University Rankings took place on 6 & 7 February 2009 and addressed the most recent issues in the field of global university rankings. It was the third time that Leiden University has organised this event. After 2 successful symposia in 2006 and 2007, Leiden University now hosted 12 speakers, all of them international experts in the field of university rankings.
Why a symposium on university ranking?
There is an increased need for universities to recruit students beyond their traditional (national) boundaries. There is also ample evidence from surveys of students to show that global university rankings are an important part of the assessment that students make when choosing a university at which to study. It follows that universities need to be concerned with the phenomenon of university rankings.
Leiden University’s response has been to organise fora for discussion on global ranking. It is our belief that such events serve to clarify important issues and influence the design of ranking processes.
The 2009 symposium
This was the third symposium in the Leiden University International Ranking Symposia and it brought together a variety of excellent speakers, including:
Mr. W. Archer, Director i-Graduate.org, Prof. Ron Bormans, President HAN University of Applied Science (the Netherlands); Dr. Robert Coelen, Vice-President International, Leiden University (the Netherlands);
Prof. Koenraad Debackere, Manager, Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven (Belgium); Dr. Gero Federkeil, Centre for Higher Education (CHE), Gütersloh (Germany); Prof. Luke Georghiou, Professor of Science and Technology Policy Management, and Associate Dean Research Faculty of Humanities, University of Manchester (UK); Prof. Wolfgang Glänzel, , Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven (Belgium); Prof. Ellen Hazelkorn, Director Dublin Institute of Technology and Dean of the Faculty of Applied Arts, Dublin (Ireland); Prof. Paul van der Heijden, Rector Magnificus and President of the University Executive Board, Leiden University (the Netherlands); Prof. Lauritz Holm-Nielsen, Rector, University of Aarhus (Denmark); Mr. Martin Ince, Commissioning Editor, Timer Higher Education Supplement, London (UK); Dr Neil Kemp, International Education Consultant and Visiting Fellow, University of London (UK); Prof. Anthony van Raan, Professor and Director Centre for Science and Technology (CWTS), Leiden University (the Netherlands); Dr. Jan Sadlak, Director UNESCO-CEPES, Bucharest (Rumania)
Mr. Tony Sheil, Senior Manager, Research Policy, Griffith University (Australia); Ms. Hanneke Teekens, Director Communications, Nuffic Netherlands Organisation for Internationalisation (the Netherlands).
Also see: Programme and Speakers
Results of the 2006 & 2007 symposia
The 1st international ranking symposium at Leiden University, entitled ‘Challenges in the ranking of universities’ was held on 1 February 2006. The 2nd symposium, entitled: ‘Ranking: how should universities respond?’ was held in Leiden on 2 & 3 February 2007. All participants of both symposia judged the quality and value very high. Participants came from 19 countries in 2006 and from 34 countries in 2007.
Report 2007 symposium