GLOBAL: US tops Shanghai university rankings, China on rise

Geoff Maslen15 August 2014 Issue No:330

 

American universities have again outranked more than 1,250 other higher education institutions around the world in the annual Shanghai Jiao Tong listing of the global top 500 universities. And for the 12th year running, Harvard was placed number one.

The global Academic Ranking of World Universities, or ARWU, was released on Friday with the usual long list of United States universities taking 16 places in the top 20, 52 in the top 100 and 146 in the top 500.

Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Berkeley, Princeton, Caltech, Columbia and Chicago – in that order – were in the top 10 while American institutions also occupied the top five places in four of the five broad subject fields where Shanghai ranks the top 200 universities.

Britain came second with three of its universities in the top 20 – Cambridge at number five, Oxford at number nine and University College London at 20. The UK also had eight universities in the top 100 and 20 in the top 200 with a total of 38 at the 500 point.

That was one behind Germany, which had 39 universities in total in the top 500 but none in the top 20. France and Italy each had 21 universities in the top 500, as did Canada, and they were followed by Australia and Japan with 19 each.

Switzerland’s science and engineering university, ETH Zurich, joined the elite top 20 group for the first time, in the 19th spot, placing the university first among European institutions.

ETH was followed by France’s Pierre and Marie Curie University at number 35, while the University of Copenhagen, in 39th position, overtook Paris-Sud as the third top university in Europe.

The Swiss-based École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne or EPFL made its first appearance in the top 100, increasing Switzerland’s representation to five – the third highest of all countries in the ranking but with seven in total.

China, with 44 universities ranked in the top 500, continues to make rapid advances up the table even though its institutions only managed to get as far as having nine in the top 200. Even with 44, though, China still had 102 fewer of its institutions placed in the rankings than the US.

Elsewhere in Asia, the University of Tokyo at 21 and Kyoto University at 26 topped all others in Asia while the University of Melbourne in 44th position became the highest ranked university in Australasia in the history of the ARWU.

Overall, 16 countries had at least one university in the top 100 while 42 nations were represented in the top 500, with nine managing to have one listed and six having two. This year, 25 universities broke into the top 500, including Deakin University in Melbourne plus another nine that also made their first appearance.

South Africa and Egypt were the only countries on the African continent to be represented in the top 500: South Africa with the universities of Cape Town, the Witwatersrand, KwaZulu-Natal and Stellenbosch, and Egypt with the University of Cairo.

The ranking

The Center for World-Class Universities at Shanghai Jiao Tong first launched the precursor of the now too-numerous university ranking systems in 2003.

It has been criticised in the past for its heavy reliance on science-oriented sources, using indicators such as the number of alumni and staff winning Nobel prizes and Fields Medals, and the number of articles published in Nature and Science.

The ranking also uses the Science Citation Index and the Social Sciences Citation Index, as well as each university’s ‘per capita performance’ in determining a university’s place in the rankings.

The latter is calculated by the weighted scores of the other five indicators divided by the number of full-time equivalent academic staff. The centre says that if staff numbers are not available, only the weighted scores of the five indicators are used.

The centre is certainly correct, however, when it refers to its “transparent methodology and reliable data” – unlike some other rankings – and its listings are still regarded as the most reliable, if not most prestigious, of all the global university ranking systems.

Performance by field

It also publishes other results of the vast amount of data the ranking collects, such as the classification of the top 200 universities in five broad fields as well as in five selected subject fields. The following lists the fields and the top five universities in each, which again shows America’s domination:

• Natural Sciences and Mathematics: Berkeley, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford and Caltech.
  
• Engineering-Technology and Computer Sciences: MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and University of Texas at Austin.
  
• Life and Agriculture Sciences: Harvard, Cambridge, Stanford, MIT and University of California, San Francisco.
  
• Clinical Medicine and Pharmacy: Harvard, UC San Francisco, Washington (Seattle), Johns Hopkins and Stanford.
  
• Social Sciences: Harvard, Chicago, MIT, Berkeley and Columbia.
  

And in the subject fields:

• Mathematics: Princeton, Harvard, Berkeley, Pierre and Marie Curie and Stanford.
  
• Physics: Berkeley, Princeton, MIT, Harvard and Caltech.
  
• Chemistry: Berkeley, Harvard, Stanford, Northwestern (Evanston) and Cambridge.
  
• Computer Science: Stanford, MIT, Berkeley, Harvard and Princeton.
  
• Economics-Business: Harvard, Chicago, MIT, Berkeley and Princeton.
  

 

ASIA: The need for an ASEAN University

Roger Y Chao Jr18 July 2014 Issue No:329

 

With the ASEAN Community set to be established in December 2015, there is a need to revisit the failed 1992 ASEAN initiative to establish an ASEAN University. Its failure should not be attributed to lack of political will among ASEAN member states, but rather to an immature regionalisation process.

Compared to 1992, the ASEAN region today has progressed dramatically towards ASEAN regionalism, creating a community with a population of over 600 million and a regional economy with a gross domestic product (at current prices) of US$2,318,156 million and with total trade of US$2,476,427 million based on 2012 figures.

The establishment of the ASEAN Free Trade Area in 1992, the expansion of ASEAN membership in 1997 and 1998 to include Lao PDR, Myanmar and Cambodia, and various regionalisation initiatives – including the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services and Mutual Recognition Agreement on key professions – provided the core policy framework for ASEAN regional integration.

It has also encouraged collaboration between a demographically, politically, socio-economically diverse group of nation states at a time of increased competition brought about by neo-liberal globalisation.

A beacon university for the ASEAN

Although the ASEAN University initiative was shelved, it facilitated the establishment of one of the core organisations in ASEAN regionalisation of higher education, the ASEAN University Network, AUN.

With AUN university membership representing two to four key universities from each ASEAN member state, the network has facilitated enhanced collaboration at institutional level and more recently at regional level with other key regional organisations dealing with higher education.

The ASEAN Credit Transfer System, Student Mobility Programmes and Internal Quality Assurance have been initiated, established and implemented across AUN member universities.

Although its mandate is not at the regional level, AUN member universities and the policies and programmes initiated within the AUN aim to promote good practices among all ASEAN universities.

While there is a growing number of ASEAN-related courses and a few programmes, there is a lack of ASEAN centeredness in any ASEAN university.

This can be attributed to the highly competitive global higher education market and the competition within ASEAN universities for students, funding and global recognition primarily in terms of global rankings.

No single ASEAN university or institution is focused on conducting research on ASEAN-related issues such as history, culture, society and the challenges and opportunities brought about by the establishment of an ASEAN Community.

Furthermore, there is no authoritative institution that serves as a repository of ASEAN-related knowledge or serves as a think-tank focused on the current and future challenges of the ASEAN and its member states.

European University Institute

The original idea of an ASEAN University was based on the need to promote ASEAN-ness among its regional population as well as regional collaboration and integration.

The ASEAN University that I envision, however, looks to the European University Institute, or EUI, located in Florence, Italy.

The EUI is a graduate research institution funded by the 21 European Union member states, which not only serves as the historical archive for the European Union but is also engaged in research on various European issues and challenges usually focused on political science, social science and the humanities.

The ASEAN University should have an institutionalised funding arrangement with ASEAN member states, institutional autonomy and full academic freedom. As such, it will be free to engage in graduate research on ASEAN-related topics especially focused on political science, social science and the humanities.

Such an ASEAN University will not only serve the original idea for the institution but also create new knowledge on ASEAN-related challenges, serve as an authority on ASEAN topics and enhance the promotion, conservation and dissemination of the ASEAN region’s rich cultural diversity.

The challenges of establishing an ASEAN University will centre on finding a sustainable institutional funding arrangement, a governance structure that enhances institutional autonomy and inculcating a culture of academic freedom given its focus on ASEAN-related topics.

Lastly, its collaboration with existing research centres and institutions focused on ASEAN studies and the need to deliver ASEAN-related courses needs to be addressed.

The success of an ASEAN University will depend on the ASEAN region’s commitment to establishing and sustaining institutional funding, and ensuring institutional autonomy and academic freedom, but in return the region will have a beacon university embodying ASEAN’s core values while respecting the region’s cultural, political and socio-economic diversity.

For these reasons, I call for ASEAN leaders to revisit the establishment of the ASEAN University in the hope that the region will truly have a beacon university in the near future and in time for the challenges the ASEAN Community faces in the coming years.

* Dr Roger Y Chao Jr is the international consultant for higher education for UNESCO Myanmar. This article is based on his presentation at the Global Education Dialogues meeting in Myanmar earlier this month.

COMMENTS

Many universities that are not part of the ASEAN University Network (AUN) already feel alienated by the exclusivity of the AUN and are talking about forming their own group of schools in response to being kept out by the AUN. How much more alienated would the 'ASEAN University' make other universities feel? This is a bad idea but it ranks right up there with the AUN.

Mark Hefner on the University World News Facebook page


I was very interested to read this since my researches on the early history of European cooperation education led me back to the storms around the idea of a supranational university for the EEC and the eventual deal in favour of the much more modest European University Institute in Florence. (See 'Universities and the Europe of Knowledge', Palgrave 2005) for what I found a riveting story.)

Anne Corbett on the University World News Facebook page


Anne Corbett, thanks for your interest and the reference, which I will look into. I do know that it took quite a while to establish the EUI due to a number of issues and I expect the same situation may occur with the establishment of a similar institution in the ASEAN region but we need to be proactive and innovative

Roger Chao Jr on the University World News Facebook page


A comment in response to the statement 'No single ASEAN university or institution is focused on conducting research on ASEAN-related issues such as history, culture, society and the challenges...' There are in fact several HEIs established in the 60s although they do not bear the acronym ASEAN: http://www.iseas.edu.sg/mission.cfm

QueAnh Dang on the University World News Facebook page


QueAnh Dang, I was thinking of a regional institution with no national affiliation, and funded regionally.

Roger Chao Jr on the University World News Facebook page


Here's another model from South Asia: http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php

University World News on the University World News Facebook page


Another thing is ISEAS [Institute of Southeast Asian Studies] is located within another institute - NUS, if I recall correctly.

Thanks for the SAU link. The ASEAN University I am thinking of is a graduate research university, and hopefully funded through an institutionalised arrangement with ASEAN member states. It's good to see the SAU model, though. I expect some challenges in establishing the ASEAN university

Roger Chao Jr on the University World News Facebook page


Perhaps more crucial questions are: Is convergence a means or an end for regionalism in ASEAN? What are other possible outcomes or consequences? What would be the real benefits of a single ASEAN University, given the informal 'gentlemen's agreement' in the 'ASEAN-style' regional cooperation?

QueAnh Dang on the University World News Facebook page


That's true, QueAnh Dang. I seem to prefer an institutionalized regional institution with institutionalized funding and full academic freedom. I just think it's the right time to revisit the original idea and establish a slightly different version of the ASEAN University. It's difficult to answer the question about the exact outcome of a single ASEAN University; it all depends on its core mission and flexibility to undertake this mission. I would presume that such an institution would be able to conduct research and facilitate graduate researchers' and scholars' dialogue and joint research much faster than an informal agreement. A regional status being not within the confine of one member state should provide the necessary space to conduct unbiased and unrestricted research.
 

THAILAND: University leaders appointed to ‘military government’

Suluck Lamubol04 August 2014 Issue No:330

 

Rectors from nine of Thailand’s top public universities have joined the junta-picked lawmaking assembly established three months after the military staged the country’s 13th coup d'état on 22 May.

The junta, officially known as the National Council for Peace and Order or NCPO, last week announced 200 nominations for membership of the military-dominated National Legislative Assembly, which will draft a constitution to replace the country’s current interim charter.

More than half of them – 105 members – are from the military, 11 from the police and the rest are former senators, technocrats, academics and businessmen. A dozen are women.

The nine rectors are from some of the country’s top universities including Chulalongkorn, Thammasat, Chiang Mai, Kasetsart, Ramkhamhaeng, the National Institute of Development Administration, Srinakharinwirot, Khon Kaen and Mahidol.

The rector of Mahidol University chairs the Council of University Presidents of Thailand. Also appointed was Thammasat University council Chair Noranit Sretabutr.

Some of the universities’ websites carried congratulations posted by their administrations on the appointment of the rectors. Academics opposing the coup had to be more discrete in objecting to the rectors’ involvement with the military government.

Critics

Charnvit Kasetsiri, a former Thammasat rector, wrote an open letter calling on Noranit and Thammasat Rector Somkid Lertpaitoon to “refrain” from associating with bodies created by the junta.

Yukti Mukdavichit, an anthropology lecturer at Thammasat University, published an online open letter to the university’s rector and faculty, saying the decision to join the assembly was a “disgrace” for a university known in the past for resistance against authoritarian regimes.

“Right now the people have no freedom. Even though the Constitution stipulates the protection of rights, it did grant NCPO leaders supreme powers.”

He pointed out that those who are against the coup would be tried in a military court. “This is not guaranteeing any of the liberties stipulated in the charter at all,” Yukti wrote.

Since the coup, the junta has summoned 565 politicians, activists, academics and journalists and arrested 233 people, according to iLaw, a non-governmental law group that has documented rights violations. It says some 77 people have been persecuted and of these, 60 are to be tried by a military court.

Thongchai Winichakul, a history professor at Wisconsin-Madison University in the US and a Thammasat student leader during the 1970s student uprising, criticised the rectors’ decision to join the assembly as “shameless” and likely to affect the credibility of the institutions and the academic profession.

“In the current conflict, these rectors have caused heavy damage to the [academic] profession as a whole. They overtly played a leading anti-democracy role, against electoral democracy, and in creating a justification for the latest coup,” he told University World News.

“As of now, it appears that the majority of Thai academics prefer serving the establishment because, after all, they are the privileged ones in Thailand’s hierarchical society. Most of them support their rectors in playing such a disgraceful role,” said Thongchai.

Other critics said the academics were there to ‘adorn’ the national assembly and give it legitimacy, so that it appears to include a wider cross-section of society.

The assembly will convene on 7 August to choose a chair, who will then set a date to select a new prime minister and cabinet.

It is widely expected that NCPO leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led the military coup, will become prime minister to consolidate the military’s power.
 

ASEAN: states commit to Australia’s New Colombo Plan - University World News

ASEAN states commit to Australia’s New Colombo Plan - University World News

All 10 members of ASEAN – the Association of Southeast Asian Nations  have agreed to participate in Australia's New Colombo Plan encouraging Australian students to study at universities in Southeast Asia, reports SBS.

Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop says she is pleased with the development, and that close ties between the ASEAN members make it logical that Australian students study at universities in Southeast Asia rather than in countries like the United States.

A pilot of the New Colombo Plan began earlier this year in January, with more than 1,300 Australian undergraduate students supported by the government to study in the region. Under the original Colombo Plan, tens of thousands of students from Southeast Asia studied in Australia during the 1950s to 1980s.

Full report on the SBS site