IREG Forum

Subject and Discipline Related Rankings
For a More Inclusive Approach to University Performance

organized by:
Aalborg University
and
IREG Observatory on Academic Ranking and Excellence

11-12 June 2015, Aalborg, Denmark

[Venue: Aalborg University Create, Rendsburggade 14]

AGENDA

Wednesday, 10 June 2015

Whole day Arrival of participants

16.00 – 18.00 Executive Committee (close meeting) 
19.00 – 21.00 Welcome Reception and Registration 
[Location: Aalborg University Create, Rendsburggade 14]

Thursday, 11 June 2015

8.30 – 9.00 Registration

9.00 – 10.00 Opening Session

Moderator: Birte Hornemann, Aalborg University, Member of the Executive Committee of IREG Observatory

Speakers:

• Inger Askehave, Pro-Rector, Aalborg University
• Jan Sadlak, President, IREG Observatory

10.00 – 11.30 First Session
Rankings for Engineering

Chair: Waldemar Siwiński, President, Perspektywy Education Foundation, Vice-President of IREG Observatory, Poland

Speakers:

• Axel Herrmann, Professor of Production Technology, University of Bremen;
  CEO, Composite Technology Center Stade GmbH (Airbus subsidiary), Germany - Educating engineering elite for the industry of new technologies – challenges for university rankings.
• Frede Blåbjerg, Professor of Electrical Engineering, Aalborg University, Denmark - The Use of Ranking in Engineering – Pros and Cons Seen from a Researcher Perspective
• Mads Nygård, Professor in Computer Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway;
  Task Force on U-Multirank, CESAER - Rankings of Engineering Institutions – the Way they are, and the Way they should be

Discussion

11.30 – 12.00 Coffee Break

12.00 – 13.30 Second Session: Rankings for Medicine – Criteria and Methodological Challenges for Medical Studies and Services [including clinical hospitals]

Chair: Ghislaine Filliatreau, Director, OST – Observatoire des Sciences et des Techniques, France

Speakers:

• Vincenzo Costigliola, President, European Medical Association (EMA), Brussels, Belgium - Which Criteria for Ranking Medical Services
• Jens Peter Andersen, Researcher, Medical Library, Aalborg University Hospital Denmark - Impact of Clinical Research as a Cofounder for Medical School Research Rankings
• Roger Taylor, Director of Research & Public Affaris, dr foster Ltd., United Kingdom - Issues involved in rating quality of medical establishments [in the context of medical studies and clinical hospitals]: Experience and practices of ‘dr foster Ltd’

Discussion

13.30 – 14.30 Lunch

14.30 – 16.30 Third Session
Rankings by Subjects and Fields: Practices and Experiences of “Rankers”

Chair: Klaus Huefner, IREG Audit Coordinator, Emeritus Professor of the Free University of Berlin, Germany

Speakers:

• Gero Federkeil, Head of International Rankings, CHE-Centre for Higher Education, Vice-president of IREG Observatory, Germany - Doing Field-based Rankings: Lessons Learned from U-Multirank and CHE-rankings
• Ying Cheng, Director, the Shanghai Ranking Consultancy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China - Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) by Subjects and Fields: Methodologies, Challenges and Future Plans
• Bob Morse, Chief Data Strategist, U.S. News & World Report, USA - U.S. News & World Report’s 21 Subject-specific Research Performance Rankings in New Best Global Universities vs. Program Specific Rankings in U.S. News’ Best Graduate Schools
• Ben Sowter, Head of Division, QS Intelligence Unit [division of Quacquarelli Symonds Limited], United Kingdom-Rewarding and Revealing Reflections upon Four Years into the QS World University Rankings by Subject  

Discussion

16.30 – 16.45 Coffee Break

16.45 – 18.45  Fourth Session
Rankings for Social Sciences and Humanities

Chair:  Remus Pricopie, Rector, SNSPA – National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Romania

Speakers:

• Roger Kain, Professor, Dean and Chief Executive of the School of Advanced Study, University of London, and Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes (CHCI), United Kingdom - Humanities and Social Sciences in the UK Research Excellence Framework (REF)
• Jesper W. Schneider, Danish Centre for Studies in Research & Research Policy (CFA), Denmark - University Rankings: One Size Fits All – the Challenges of Measuring the Social Sciences and Humanities
• Gunnar Sivertsen, Research Professor, Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education (NIFU), Norway - To What Extent is international Comparision Possible? Internationalization Social Sciences and Humanities
• Luciana Sacchetti, Research and Technology Transfer Division, University of Bologna, Italy - Subject Rankings to Enhance Self-assessment of the Research Performance in University Departments

Discussion

19.30 – 21.30 Conference Gala Dinner
[Location: House of Music Musikkens Plads 1]

Friday, 12 June 2015

9.00 – 11.00 Fifth Session: Academic Rankings, Data Sources and Their Place in Institutional Assessment, Improvement and Benefits to Stakeholders

Chair: Maria Pilar Lostao, Vice President for International Relations of the University of Navarra, Spain

Speakers:

• Paul Wouters, Professor of Scientometrics, Director, CWTS – Centre for Science and Technology Studies, Leiden University, the Netherlands - Do Rankings Make the World Go Round? Quality Assessment Systems and Their Effects
• Serban Agachi, Professor of Process Control and Optimization, Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Member of the Executive Committee of IREG Observatory, Romania - Academic Rankings and Institutional Improvement: Recent Experience Among Leading Universities in Romania
• Guillaume Warnan, Customer Consultant, Elsevier Research Intelligence, Elsevier, the Netherlands - Academic Rankings: The Importance (or Impact) of Data Source
• Elena Chernyshkova, Deputy Executive Director, Project 5-100 Office and Victor Koksharov, Rector, Ural Federal University, Russian Federation - Concept, First Outcomes, and Ranking Strategies of the Russian Academic Excellence Project 5-100

Discussion

11.00 – 11.30 Coffee Break

11.30 – 13.30 Sixth Session
Launching of IREG Guidelines for Stakeholders of Academic Rankings

Chair: Nian Cai Liu, Professor and Dean of Graduate School of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Vice-President of IREG Observatory, China

Panel of Stakeholders:    

• Thomas D. Parker, Senior Associate, Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), USA
• Zdzisław Mach, Rector’s Proxy for International Relations, Jagiellonian University, Poland
• Laerke Haestrup, the Student Society, Aalborg University, Denmark
• Mariya Fartunova, Director, Higher Education Directorate, Ministry of Education and Science, Bulgaria [subject to confirmation]

Discussion and Closing Remarks

13.30 – 13.45  Invitation to IREG-8 Conference in Lisbon, Antonio Rendas, Rector, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Portugal
13.45 Farewell lunch

14.15 – 16.00 General Assembly of IREG Observatory [for members of the organization]

gallery