Sign up to The Irish Times Archive (1859 - 2008)My Account »

TALKBACK:GLOBAL RANKINGS of universities have gained new currency in Ireland in recent weeks, appearing to influence government policy on funding in higher education. Support for the current Review of Higher Education and the establishment of the TCD/UCD innovation alliance noted that they “are the only Irish universities ranked inside the world top 200” (The Irish Times, January 30th and March 12th 2009). This preoccupation with the relative standing of our universities reflects the consensus that higher education is the engine of economic growth. But are global rankings the most appropriate benchmark for shaping policy? asks ELLEN HAZELKORN

Less than a decade ago, few people outside of the US had heard of university rankings. Today, national rankings exist in more than 40 countries, and global rankings are mushrooming. The first, the Shanghai Jiao Tong Academic Ranking of World Universities (SJT), began in 2003. It was followed by Webometrics and Times QS World University Ranking in 2004 and the Taiwan Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for Research Universities in 2007. The EU has recently announced its intention to develop a “new multi-dimensional university-ranking system with global outreach” to be piloted in 2010.