IREG-7 Conference

Employability and Academic Rankings – Reflections and Impacts

14-16 May 2014, London, United Kingdom
[Venue: Darwin B40LT, University College London]

Organized by
IREG Observatory on Academic Ranking and Excellence
QS Intelligence Unit

Wednesday, 14th May 2014

Whole day: Arrival of participants

14.30 – 18.00 Meeting of Executive Committee of IREG Observatory (closed session)
location: South Wing G14 Committee Room, University College London

18.30 – 20.30 Welcome Reception
The Cloisters, University College London

Thursday, 15th May 2014

8.00 – 9.00 Registration

9:00 – 9:15 Opening Session and Welcome:

Nunzio Quacquarelli, Managing Director, QS Quacquarelli Symonds
Michael Arthur, President & Provost, University College London
Jan Sadlak, President of IREG Observatory

9:15 – 11:30 First Session
Employability of Graduates: The Corporate Perspective[s]

Moderator: Stephen Isherwood, Chief Executive, Association of Graduate Recruiters, United Kingdom

During this session panellists representing employers or other bodies – private and public sector – will present their institutional experience and views with regard to current and future developments determining employability of graduates and human resources development [whenever appropriate referring to use of global, national and professional rankings for various decision making in the areas of employment].

Christian Schutz, Global Head of University Relations, Human Resources, Siemens AG, Germany
Rachel Schroeder, Head of Employment Marketing Strategy, Airbus Group
Beth Jenkins, UK & NL Recruitment Marketing Advisor, Shell International
Ashley Hever, Talent Acquisition Manager UK & Ireland, Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

11:30 – 11:45 Coffee break

11.45 – 13:00 Second Session
Employability and Skills Structure – A Lens for Assessing Performance of Higher Education Institutions and Study Programmes

Chair: Klaus Hüfner, Professor Emeritus, Free University of Berlin; IREG Audit Coordinator, Germany

Marian Mahat, LH Marting Institute for Tertiary Education Leadership and Management, University of Melbourne, Australia, and Benoît Millot, former Lead Education Economist at The World Bank, Washington DC, USA - Rankings and Employability: A System and Institutional Perspective
Vincent Han-Sun Chiang, Professor and President, Fu Jen Catholic University, and Angela Yung Chi Hou, Professor, Graduate Institute of Educational Leadership and Development, Dean, Office of International Education, Fu Jen Catholic University, Taiwan - Building Student Core Competencies and Enhancing Their International Employability Skills in Taiwan Higher Education: A Case study of Fu Jen Catholic University
Ana Lebre, Universidade Europeia, and Joana Motta, Lecturer and Researcher, Universidade Europeia, Portugal - Portuguese Private Universities – Reputation for Employability
Euiho Suh, Professor and Chair, University Evaluation & Management Committee, POSTECH, and Han Soo Kim, Professor and Chair, Vision 2020 Committee, Sejong University, Republic of Korea - Curability-Weakness (CW) Diagram to Prioritize University Management Issues: Case Studies

13:00 – 14:00 Lunch

14.00 – 15:30 Third Session
Institutional and National Experience and Perspectives on Employability-related Challenges and Responsibilities

Moderator: Khaled A.S. AL-Rasheid, Director; Distinguished Scientist Fellowship Programme, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia

During this session panellists representing universities – Members of IREG Observatory, will reflect and comment on:

- how they are dealing with the challenge of preparing employable graduates as well as facilitating their professional development;
- their experience with ranking organizations in relation to employability;
- any suggestions do they have for the ranking organizations to improve methodology and presentation of rankings

Marina Markova, Associate Professor and Corporate Relations Coordinator, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia - Sustainable Development of University Competitiveness on Labor Market Based on Mutually Beneficial Interaction.
Daniela Seskar-Hencic, Associate Director, Institutional Analysis and Planning, and Jana Carson, Manager, Institutional Evaluation and Accountability, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada - Using Survey Methodologies for Assessing Graduate Employability Outcomes – Two Examples from the Ontario System and the University of Waterloo
Magdalena Platis, Vice-rector, University of Bucharest, Romania - Employability and the Students’ Motivation for Higher Education Studies,; Institutional Changes
Linda Crane, Associate Dean, Bond University, Australia - Learning from the Employability Successes of Other Universities: Analysis and Recommendations from a National Case Study – Australia
Jamilya Nurmanbetova, Professsor and First Vice-Rector and Aigerim Shilibekova, Director of International Cooperation, Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Kazachstan - Impact of Academic Rankings on Internalization Strategy: Case of Gumilyov Eurasian National University

15:30 – 15:45 Coffee break

15:45 – 17:00 Fourth Session
Methodological Challenges for Academic Rankings to Reflect Employability: Experiences of Ranking Providers

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

Yan Wu, Center for World-Class Universities, and Nian Cai Liu, Dean of the Graduate School of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong, University; Vice-President of IREG-Observatory, China - Employability-Related Indicators for Academic Rankings
Marek Garlicki, MRC INDICATOR, Poland - “Perspektywy” University Ranking – how to gather reliable employers’ opinions on universities
Olesya Lynovytska, Director, International Projects Center “Euroosvita”, Ukraine - Need of Reconciliation of Higher Education and the Word of Work: Experience of Ukrainian University Rankings
Martin Ince, QS Global Academic Advisory Board Convener, QS Quacquarelli Symonds - Driving Response and deriving discerning metric from employer surveys

17:00 – 18:30 Fifth Session
New International Academic Rankings

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

Bob Morse, Director of Data Research, US News & World Report, USA - The US News Arab Region University Rankings Project: Responding to Regional Needs and Expectations
Phil Baty, Editor of Times Higher Education Rankings and Editor at Large of Times Higher Education, United Kingdom - Times Higher Education: BRICS & Emerging Economies Rankings
Gero Federkeil, Manager-in-charge of Rankings, CHE – Center for Higher Education; Member of U-Multirank Consortium, Vice-President of IREG Observatory, Germany – U-Multirank: First Results
Ben Sowter, Head of Division, QS Intelligence Unit; Mapping uncharted territory - Recent and future developments from the QS Intelligence Unit, by type, region and subject

19:30 – 21:30 Conference Gala Dinner
[location: Holiday Inn London, Regent’s Park, Carburton Street W1W 5EE]

Friday, 16th May 2014

9:00 – 10:30 Sixth Session
Analyses, Initiatives and Developments Relevant to Academic Rankings

Chair: Francisco José Soares, President, National Institute for Educational Studies and Research Anisio Teixeira, Brazil

Jennifer Engle, Vice President for Policy Research, Institute for Higher Education Policy, Washington, DC, USA - US Administration Proposal to Create a Federal College Ratings System: Purpose and Approach
Liliya Kiriyanova, Associate Professor, Head of Communication Policy Division, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Russia - New Initiatives and Developments in Academic Rankings: The Russian Experience
Veljko Jeremić, University of Belgrad, Serbia - A way to enhance methodology of Perspektywy University Ranking
Angelika Lex, Director Academic & Government Relations, Elsevier, The Netherlands - A New Research Evaluation Framework; Elsevier’s Latest Developments
Igor E. Bulyzhenkov and Oleg N. Solovyev, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Russia - Round University Ranking (RUR): New System for Traceable Evaluation and Comparison of Higher Education Institutions

10:30 – 11:00 Coffee break

11:00 – 12:30 Seventh Session
Impacts of Academic Rankings on Planning, Policy and Landscape of Higher Education and Youth Employability

Chair: Gero Federkeil, Manager-in-charge of Rankings, CHE – Center for Higher Education; Vice-President of IREG Observatory, Germany

Paola Mattei, University Lecturer in Comparative Social Policy and Fellow of the European Studies Centre, St Antony’s College, Oxford University, United Kingdom - Reflection on the Emerging International Landscape of Higher Education [based on findings of the book entitled “University Adaptation at Difficult Times”, edited by Paola Mattei which has been released by the Oxford University Press in April 2014]
Irina Efimova and Ilya Kuftyrev, Lobachevsky State University of Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia - Global University Ranking as a Tool for Development of Integration Process between Higher Education Institutions and Employers: Russian Peculiarities
Chiara Mio and Achilles Giacometti, Ca’Foscari University of Venice, Italy - Sustainability in University Rankings: New Proposal for Rankings.

12.30 – 13:30 Final Session
Discussion and Closing Remarks

Thank you address from gold sponsor, Dr. Mohammed Al Nuaimi, Associate Vice President for Institutional Planning and Development, Qatar University Institutional Effectiveness

Co-Chairs: Ben Sowter, Head of Division, QS Intelligence Unit, United Kingdom and Jan Sadlak, President of IREG Observatory

CONFERENCE CLOSES

14:15 – 16:15 General Assembly of IREG Observatory (members only)

16:30 – 18:30 Meeting of the Executive Committee of IREG Observatory (closed session)