Global consultation begins on new university rankings impact metrics

The first public debate as part of a worldwide consultation on the development of new indicators of a university’s social and economic impact took place at the Times Higher Education Young Universities Summit in Miami on 28 April 2014.

Times Higher Education and its World University Rankings data partner Thomson Reuters hosted a plenary panel debate at the summit in Miami on 28 April. THE and Thomson Reuters plan to engage stakeholders across the globe in a discussion of the data, methods, and potential indicators that could be used to capture activities and performance in what is often referred to as a university’s “third mission” after teaching and research – the transfer of knowledge outside the university.

Rankings editor Phil Baty chaired a panel debate, entitled “Capturing research impact, innovation and knowledge transfer for world university rankings and beyond” at the summit. The session was introduced by Joshua Schnell, Director, Scientific Analytics at Thomson Reuters and included senior representatives from six countries:

• Janet Beer, vice-chancellor, Oxford Brookes University, UK
• Alvaro Crósta, vice-rector, University of Campinas, Brazil
• Sahol Hamid Bin Abu Bakar, vice-chancellor, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia
• Gerard de Graaf, Director, European Commission, DG CONNECT, Belgium
• Arun Sharma, DVC (Research and Commercialisation), Queensland University of Technology, Australia
• Euiho Suh, chair, University Evaluation and Management Committee, Pohang University of Science and Technology, South Korea.

Following the discussion, Thomson Reuters will produce a White Paper on potential new metrics, which will be opened for further consultation.

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