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Seeking purpose
How does a modern university find its purpose ?
By Martin Betts , Ian Dunn and Ceri Nursaw
Traditionally , competition between universities around the world has been based on history and achievements measured by conventional metrics . When Oxford and Cambridge and Harvard and Stanford dominate the top places again in the Times Higher Education ( THE ) World Rankings , it illustrates the advantages that come from long histories of research , the value of their physical assets and global reputations , and the financial resources that come from endowments , ongoing donations and high value partnerships .
They are all great examples of the achievements of globally outstanding institutions , and they are role models for a growing number of institutions around the world that seek to emulate them .
But with the overall relative positions of individual institutions remaining relatively stable , and the combined impact of groups of universities in countries around the globe also changing only at the margins , the landscape of university differentiation and innovation appears to be poorly captured by rankings .
One could even argue that some rankings are , in and of themselves , now as traditional as some of the universities they seek to measure . This is not surprising given that some rankings are based on traditional metrics such as awards , papers and citations , and some systems are dominated by institutions which have been in the game much longer than others .
In these circumstances , it takes time and / or large investments for a new institution seeking to break into an old system . There are examples , particularly from Asia , of some such institutions .
There are also signs of the rankings systems becoming more nuanced for modern universities and offering new ways of doing things . Western Sydney University topping the THE Impact Rankings , is one of two global performance tables that rank against sustainability and assesses universities against the United Nations ’ Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs ). Arizona State University ( ASU ) was ranked the number one ‘ Most Innovative School ’ in the United States by U . S . News & World Report for the eighth year running is also evidence of this . In April 2022 , Coventry University was honoured with The Queen ’ s Award for Enterprise in the category of International Trade , a prestigious business award in the UK . It was also highest-rated five years running for providing overseas student experiences .
So how does a modern entrant make their mark in a system with a traditional way of operating and how would we measure their achievement ?
There are some similarities in the above examples . Success was achieved through clear goals and strategies to deliver them , and a close consideration of local and community context .
In the case of ASU and Coventry University , there was also a strong and sustained commitment to building partnerships particularly among the EdTech sector and wider tech community .
The examples also suggest that newer players can make their mark by specialising in a particular field and aiming for the highest standards in what matters to them .
For Coventry University , for example , their success was about creating better futures and delivering transformational change for their students , partners and communities
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