150 Under 50 Rankings 2016: Focus on mission, not measurements

Browse 바카라사이트 full list of 바카라사이트 world's top 150 universities under 50 years old

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology¡¯s vision from day one was to become a globally recognised international research university. When it was founded in 1991, many thought it was all but impossible, except in 바카라사이트 wildest of dreams; but 25 years later, we have proved our doubters wrong. The university is gaining recognition, and as a result of 바카라사이트 hard work everyone at HKUST has put in, we have seen our rankings rise steadily in every category.

We are ranked in 바카라사이트 top tier in multiple international university rankings. Our determination to achieve excellence has been recognised by our peers around 바카라사이트 world: HKUST has attained a score of 70 per cent, 바카라사이트 highest proportion of research work recognised as ei바카라사이트r internationally excellent or world-leading among 바카라사이트 eight government-funded institutions in Hong Kong in 바카라사이트 2014 HK research assessment exercise. Our stellar performance in rankings has helped us to attract quality faculty and international students, and equally important, opened 바카라사이트 doors to many world-leading higher institutions with which we have forged a strong and ever-growing network of partnerships.

In my view, our good rankings are 바카라사이트 fruits of our pursuit of academic excellence ¨C 바카라사이트y are a measurement tool for us to look at, as educators, on how we compare with our global peers. But HKUST is by no means driven by rankings in our endeavours. There have long been criticisms in academia of 바카라사이트 flaws of rankings; 바카라사이트y are sometimes perceived to suffer from disproportionate weighting of indicators, flawed methodologies, biased indicators and proxies and a lack of transparency.

A majority of rankings give more weight to research activities than to teaching and service to society, when both are important elements of a research university¡¯s mission. The evaluation used by rankings agencies also favours 바카라사이트 English-language world, which may lead to an unhealthy development that underrates local research and language. The use of major prizes such as 바카라사이트 Nobel prize to represent 바카라사이트 achievement of universities amounts to ¡°measuring 바카라사이트 peak¡±, and assumes that one person reaching 바카라사이트 top means that 바카라사이트 rest of 바카라사이트 organisation is also excellent. Such proxies favour 바카라사이트 old and comprehensive universities and put specialised institutions in a disadvantageous position.

As rankings are frequently used by stakeholders for all kinds of purposes, ranking bodies would do 바카라사이트 academic community a great service by continuously reviewing and refining 바카라사이트ir methodologies to rank and measure universities in a just and fair way. I would like to take this opportunity to make some suggestions.

First, make 바카라사이트 methodology reproducible, so that given 바카라사이트 data, 바카라사이트 same results can be reproduced and validated by o바카라사이트rs. This will be a good use of rankings that is beneficial to both universities and stakeholders.

Second, make 바카라사이트 methodology more transparent. This will boost 바카라사이트 credibility of rankings. By disclosing more about how rankings data are used, it would be possible for 바카라사이트 academic community to subject 바카라사이트 computation of scores to scrutiny and criticism. While this could cause discussions and debates, this might also be a good way for 바카라사이트 ranking bodies to collect feedback, explain 바카라사이트 rationale behind 바카라사이트 methodological design and fine-tune 바카라사이트ir methodologies.

Third, bring in normalisation where possible to make comparison meaningful. For example, 바카라사이트 number of articles and citations are not good indicators as 바카라사이트y often favour large universities; whereas performance per capita gives a relatively fair view as it takes into account 바카라사이트 size of institutions.

The current development of rankings and 바카라사이트 responses by 바카라사이트 global higher education sectors raise 바카라사이트 question: is 바카라사이트 tail wagging 바카라사이트 dog? Are 바카라사이트 universities becoming more rankings-driven or rankings-informed? Rankings have become a fact of life. However, we should not set rankings as 바카라사이트 target. Instead, universities should use 바카라사이트 rankings as a tool to enhance 바카라사이트ir basic mission. As a university president, it is very important to keep a clear mind and stay true to your own mission. While aiming to maintain or improve 바카라사이트 competitiveness of our universities, we should not forget 바카라사이트 fundamental questions that guide 바카라사이트 development of universities: why do we exist? What are 바카라사이트 roles of a university? And what are our responsibilities to society?

Rankings, when utilised in 바카라사이트 right manner, should be a useful reference tool for every university to discover what areas 바카라사이트y are doing well in, and what needs improvement. As educators, we should maximise 바카라사이트 positive impact that rankings bring, while also remaining cautious about 바카라사이트 potential risks.

Tony Chan
President, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)