Universities in the World: What For? - 中欧社会论坛 - China Europa Forum

Universities in the World: What For?

Pierre de Maret

2007

In Sadlak, J. and Liu N.C. (eds) The World-Class University and Ranking: Aiming beyond status, Bucarest: Unesco Cepes / Shanghai Jiao Tong University, pp.31-38

In this time of rapid change, leaders of major universities often wonder what course of action they should charter for their institution. In many ways we feel that we are trapped between what has been nicknamed the “Harvardization” and the “Mac Donaldization”of the University. In that context, the question of ranking creates new challenges and opens new debates.

As far as ranking is concerned, my university is an interesting case as it stands sometimes among the top 10 European comprehensive universities, and sometimes floats around the 100th to 150th university worldwide. This disparity is largely due to the degree of autonomy of some of its major components, mostly hospitals which publish under their own name.

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