Universitas Sumatera Utara Holds FGD with Times Higher Education
Universitas Sumatera Utara Holds FGD with Times Higher Education
Published by
Tuesday, 26 November 2024
Published at
Renny Julia Harahap
“This FGD is very important for us to understand more deeply the indicators used by Times Higher Education so that we can make the necessary evaluations and improvements for future ranking improvements.” said Prof. Poppy.
USU PR - The Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU) held a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) entitled “Times Higher Education: Reputation and Ranking Session” by presenting Tom Arnott, Regional Subscriptions Director of Times Higher Education (THE), as a guest speaker. The event took place in the Academic Senate Room of the USU Administration Center Building on Thursday (21/11/2024).
Vice Rector III of USU, Prof. Dr. Poppy Anjelisa Zaitun Hasibuan, S.Si., M.Si., Apt. in her speech thanked and expressed appreciation for Tom Arnott's presence. She explained the importance of this FGD for USU in understanding more deeply about Times Higher Education, including the indicators used in the assessment of universities at the international level. With this understanding, USU is expected to be able to evaluate, improve, and prepare aspects that support ranking improvement.
Times Higher Education is known as one of the world's top university ranking agencies, which regularly publishes an annual report. The assessment is based on 13 performance indicators that are divided into five main groups, namely teaching, research, citation, international outlook, and industry income. In this FGD, participants will hear directly from Tom Arnott regarding these indicators.
In 2024, USU was listed at 601 for THE Asia category, down from 501 in the previous year. For THE World University Rankings (WUR), USU is still ranked 1501. However, in the ranking of THE Impact Rankings, USU recorded a significant increase, rising from position 801 in 2023 to rank 601 in 2024.
Prof. Poppy invited the entire academic community to introspect and strengthen areas that are still weak, while maintaining good achievements. She hopes that this FGD can produce recommendations that can advance USU and improve the quality of tridharma services in the future.
“This FGD is very important for us to understand more deeply the indicators used by Times Higher Education so that we can make the necessary evaluations and improvements for future rankings,” said Prof. Poppy.
In his presentation, Tom Arnott emphasized the importance of maintaining the quality of education, research, and social contribution as the main elements in building university's reputation. He also highlighted that a good reputation not only attracts talented students and quality lecturers but also opens up funding opportunities and collaboration with various parties, including the industrial sector. Reputation management, according to him, is a big challenge for educational institutions, especially because universities involve many stakeholders.
Through this discussion, USU is expected to devise new strategies to improve its position in international rankings. In addition, this activity also aims to encourage the entire academic community to play an active role in strengthening the university's reputation collectively. USU's success in global rankings is expected to contribute to improving the quality of the university's tridharma services and expanding its influence in the international world.
Arnott also praised USU's strategy in building a reputation at the global level and encouraged all parties to continue to strive to improve USU's position in the international arena.
“A university's reputation is built over the long term, but it can collapse in just five minutes. It is important for us to maintain consistency and build credibility with all stakeholders,” Tom concluded.