The world university rankings are attracting attention. Japanese universities would do well to keep steadily working to enhance their research capabilities, without oscillating between optimism and pessimism over their ranking.
Times Higher Education, a British educational magazine, has published its "World University Rankings 2020." The only Japanese universities in the top 200 are the University of Tokyo, at 36th, and Kyoto University, at 65th. Meanwhile, seven universities in mainland China and five universities in Hong Kong finished in the top 200.
Prestigious universities in Britain and the United States hold the top 10 spots. The University of Oxford in Britain ranks first, followed by such institutions as the California Institute of Technology in the United States, the University of Cambridge in Britain and Stanford University in the United States.
The rankings are calculated by combining such data as the number of times an institution's published works are cited and its proportion of international staff and students, as well as data on its research output and learning environment. British and U.S. universities, which have become global research centers, tend to rank high because the rankings place significant weight on research fields.
A clear pattern can be seen, in which British media give out ratings that favor universities in Britain and the United States. Still, leading universities in each country cannot ignore the rankings because an increasing number of researchers and students around the world reference them when choosing where to work or go to school.
In particular, the number of Chinese students aiming to study at leading universities in English-speaking countries is on the rise, while universities are finding it more important to attract international students due to financial and other reasons. It can be said that universities confronted with fierce global competition are being faced with the need to raise their rankings and enhance their brands.
Assume diverse roles
In its "Japan Revitalization Strategy" for 2013, the government set a numerical target of having "at least 10 Japanese universities in the top 100 in the next 10 years." Rankings are easy to understand, but having the rankings themselves become the target would be to mistake the means for the end.
The important thing is to squarely face the weaknesses in Japanese universities as demonstrated in the rankings, and try to remedy them.
In particular, Japanese universities have earned low scores for the number of times their published works are cited by outside scholars, causing them to lag internationally. A decline in fundamental research capabilities is apparent. Chinese universities have been highly rated in recent years not only because their publications have been increasing, but also because the quality of the publications is rising.
For Japan to disseminate large numbers of important theses and articles that could be cited by scholars globally, the central government and universities need to improve research environments and foster young researchers, for instance.
Needless to say, the role of universities is not limited to research. Through broad-based education, they should foster citizens who will bear the fate of Japan on their shoulders and produce human resources that will underpin local industries. They are expected to assume such diverse roles, and they should not be swayed by one particular ranking.
What counts most is for each university to strive to raise its level of quality in accordance with its characteristics.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 24, 2019)
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