CHE organises international conference on university rankings

For the second time after 2006 the CHE – Centre for Higher Education Development is organising the annual conference of the International Observatory on Academic Rankings and Excellence (IREG). It will take place in Berlin from 6 to 8 October 2010. Interested individuals and organisations can register via the observatory’s website. The event is expected to attract more than 150 participants from all over the world.

The International Observatory on Academic Ranking and Excellence is a worldwide association of organisations that produce rankings on the one hand, and on the other hand of people who use the rankings for research purposes, or who are interested in observing the rankings. The Observatory conferences, which take place every 18 months, support discussions of new developments in relation to the content and methodology of rankings.

The focus of the 2010 meeting will be on European projects that are already underway, such as the U-Multirank Project, in which the CHE is substantially involved, or on projects related to the establishment of a ranking of the “third mission” activities of higher education institutions. Another key topic of the meeting will be the indicators and rankings in humanities and social sciences. There will also be lectures about rankings in Africa and Latin America. Last but not least, an auditing procedure for university rankings will be introduced, which aims to show compliance with minimum quality standards.