It seems there are growing concerns about the negative influence of international rankings in many parts of the world. Some countries and regions are turning towards local rankings that reflect their specific priorities while others have become disillusioned with the whole idea of ranking.
An article by Dmitry Kochetkov in Leiden Madtrics, a page run by CWTS Leiden University, reports on a new Russian higher education excellence initiative. Priority 3030 is intended to replace Project 5 top 100 which attempted to get five Russian universities into the top 100 of the “big three” well-known global rankings and which came to an end in 2020.
The minimum criteria for joining the new programme include the scale of the university and its potential for contributing to the country’s development. There is also a criterion for creative focus that will help universities with an emphasis on the arts.
Basic grant allocations were made during 2021 and further allocations will be made on a competitive basis. Kochetkov reports that the initiative is the largest in Russian history
A key feature of the project is that it specifically rejects international rankings as an instrument for evaluation. While the 5 top 100 project did have some positive effects, it did not achieve its stated goals except for some subject rankings.
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