International impact is often understood to mean citations in international journals, but at Lund University we take a broader view. For example, our work on development in teaching and learning is an excellent example of how we can achieve international impact through excellence and international recognition, thereby contributing to Lund University's good reputation.
Issues around the University’s reputation – how it is perceived internationally – are a major part of the work on international rankings. In the next few days, we will welcome staff from one of the ranking institutes – QS, which will be hosting workshops to explore in depth the ways in which we, and they, work on our reputation. For us, it is very much about identifying what we take for granted and building upon what we already do well. From an international perspective, Lund University has an outstanding education, research and innovation environment to which all students and staff contribute!
We will eventually use parts of those discussions to compare ourselves with other international universities. This is possible thanks to cooperation with both QS and THE, the two major ranking institutes. It is important to emphasise that quality management is not driven by ranking data. We decide for ourselves how and what we would like to improve.
As well as monitoring the University's development over time, it is equally important to compare ourselves with other higher education institutions in terms of quality development. Quality is not merely data, metrics or other indicators, but these do provide opportunities to more systematically gain insights into our own development over time. That is the link between ranking and quality issues.
/ Kristina Eneroth, pro vice-chancellor
