Universities and governments in the Middle East have become increasingly concerned with international university rankings. An article in University World News, ‘What role do global university rankings play in HE reform?’ by Tarek Abd Elgalil, recently discussed attitudes towards university rankings and Internationalisation in the Arab region, specifically in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. The article discusses how these countries have different policies and programmes related to rankings and Internationalisation.
Saudi Arabia is determined to use global rankings to achieve international recognition for research and higher education. The country’s national vision is linked to priority areas including environmental sustainability, energy and public health. Performance in the major rankings is seen as essential, and this will be promoted by creating international networks and recruiting reputable researchers.
The approach of the United Arab Emirates is rather difference and much more market orientated, with a variety of competing national and local universities and branch campuses of global universities, including New York University, Birmingham and the Sorbonne. Rankings are seen as an important element in the position of the country in the global higher education system and the country has recently hosted meetings of Times Higher Education and IREG.
Qatar has taken a more cautious approach to rankings. The article notes that, according to Cesar Wazen, Director of International Affairs at Qatar University, they do not control strategy, although universities do submit data, and the mission of the university and the state is seen as primarily national rather than global. Qatar’s approach to higher education is therefore based on a dual system with Qatar University as the national research institution, and Education City, a cluster of branch campuses of global universities and pre-university campuses and Hamad Bin Khalifa University, in leading the drive for international recognition.
Source:
University World News