IREG-7 Conference: Employability and Academic Rankings – Reflections and Impacts. 14-16 May 2014, London, United Kingdom.
Organized by IREG Observatory on Academic Ranking and Excellence and QS Intelligence Unit, UK.
What does the average student go to university for? By far the most substantial subsequent destination is the world of work. A job. Whilst statistics suggest that a university degree is still, on average, a ticket to better job and a better salary, with the massification of global higher education it has become a hirers’ market and employers are beginning to expect and even demand that graduates are more than their degree certificate. As the cost of higher education escalates around the world, students are turning to their universities expecting to be equipped with the skills employers are seeking.
Wednesday, 14th May 2014
Whole day: Arrival of participants
14.30 - 18.00 Meeting of Executive Committee of IREG Observatory (closed session)
[location: to be announced]
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
- Representative of Airbus [name to be provided]; [names of further speakers on this panel will be provided in the next updated version of the programme]
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], France: 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, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Korea: [title to be provided]
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 presentations [in particular from the universities - Members of IREG Observatory], will reflect foremost on:
- how they are dealing with the challenge of preparing employable graduates as well as facilitating their professional development;
- experience with corporate sector, public institutions and ranking organizations in relation to employability of the graduates.
- Seskar-Hencic, Daniela, Associate Director, Institutional Analysis and Planning, and Carson, Jana, 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
- Mircea Dumitru, Rector, University of Bucharest, and Magdalena Platis, Vice-rector, University of Bucharest, Romania: Employability and the Students’ Motivations for Higher Education Studies; Institutional Changes
- Shelley Kinash, Director for Learning and Teaching, Bond University, Australia: Learning from the Employability Successes of Other Universities: Analysis and Recommendations from a National Case Study – Australia
- Jamilya Nurmanbetova, Professor and First Vice-Rector, and Aigerim Shilibekova, Director of International Cooperation, Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Kazakhstan: Impact of Academic Rankings on Internationalization Strategy: Case of Gumilyov Eurasian National University
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: Employment-Related Indicators for Academic Rankings
- Jan Garlicki, Professor, the University of Warsaw, Poland: "Perspektywy" University Ranking – how to gather reliable employers’ opinions on universities
- Olesya Lynovytska, Director, Scientific Research Institute of Applied Information Technologies, Ukraine: Need of Reconciliation of Higher Education and the World of Work: Experience of Ukrainian University Rankings
- Ben Sowter, Head of Division, QS Intelligence Unit, United Kingdom: Driving response and deriving discerning metrics from employer surveys
17:30 - 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
- Gianfranco Lucchese, University of Bergamo, Italy: Analysis of the Scientific Production on International University Rankings
- 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
- Ben Sowter, Head of Division, QS Intelligence Unit, United Kingdom: Mapping uncharted territory: Recent and future developments from the QS Intelligence Unit, by type, region and subject.
- U-Multirank: First Results
19:30 - 21:30 Conference Gala Diner
[location: Holiday Inn London, Regent's Park, Carburton Street]
Friday, 16th May 2014
9:00 - 10:30 Sixth Session:Analyses, Initiatives and Developments Relevant to Academic Rankings
Chair: Luiz Claudio Costa, President, National Institute for Educational Studies and Research Anisio Teixeira (INEP), Brazil
- Angelika Lex, Director Academic & Government Relations, Elsevier, The Netherlands: A New Research Evaluation framework: Elsevier's Latest Developments
- Tom Parker, Senior Associate, Institute for Higher Education Policy, Washington, DC, USA: US Administration Proposal to Create a Federal College Ratings System: Purpose and Approach
- Marina Dobrota, Milica Bulajic and Veljko Jeremić, University of Belgrad, Serbia: A way to enhance methodology of Perspektywy University Ranking
- Liliya Kiriyanova, Associate Professor, Head of Communication policy division, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Russia: New Initiatives and Developments in Academic Rankings: The Russian Experience
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]
- Nikita Avralev, Vice-Rector for Public Relationsand Irina Efimova, Head, Public Relations Office, Lobachevsky State University of Nizhni Novgorod, Russia: Global University Rankings As a Tool for Development of Integration Process between Higher Education Institutions and Employers: Russian Peculiarities
- Chiara Mio and Achille Giacometti, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy: Sustainability in University Rankings: New Proposal for Rankings
- Marina Markova, Associate Professor and Corporate Relations Coordinator, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia: Sustainable Development of the University and Graduates Competitiveness on Labour Market Based on Mutually Beneficial Interaction
12.30 - 13:30 Final Session: Discussion and Closing Remarks
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).
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