In the four thematic sessions of the ScienceCon 2022 conference, which was inaugurated by the Rector of the Jagiellonian University, prof. Jacek Popiel, most time was devoted to scientific evaluation, scientific reporting and their role in ranking universities and building the international reputation of higher education institutions. During the first session – using a presentation by the National Information Processing Institute – National Research Institute – a summary of the process of reporting data on scientific activity for the period 2017-2021, i.e., the last scientific evaluation, which for the first time has been held under the new rules, was presented.
The second session consisted in discussing conclusions of the completed evaluation and the further development of the Polish system of scientific reporting. During the debate, its participants could confront Polish and international experiences in the evaluation – the participants of the discussion panel included Phil Baty, chief knowledge officer at Times Higher Education, prof. Lauritz Holm-Nielsen, Rector Emeritus of Aarhaus University (Denmark), prof. Stanisław Kistryn, Rector's Representative for cooperation within Una Europa at the Jagiellonian University, and prof. Elżbieta Żądzińska, Rector of the University of Lodz. The discussion attempted to identify the advantages and disadvantages of the evaluation introduced by Law 2.0 (Law of 20 July 2018 on Higher Education and Science).
Evaluation and subsequent categorisation of research units should (at least theoretically) be an objective tool for measuring scientific reputation for the purposes of, among others, allocating public funds for research. The Act 2.0 has changed the system of evaluation and categorisation of units: scientific disciplines are evaluated (not whole faculties or research institutes), evaluation results are directly connected with the financing of a university, with the authorisation to grant scientific degrees, with the creation of fields of study, with the establishment of doctoral schools, with the possibility of participation in prestigious competitions (including the Excellence Initiative – Research University competition). Before determining the directions of changes in the rules of evaluation of HEIs for the following years, we must summarise the results of the current one. As far as the already perceived limitations of the evaluation of scientific achievements according to the Act 2.0 are concerned, they concern the issue of coordination between the legislator and the institutions that implement the reporting system, or the problems with lists of scientific publications or publishing houses that publish research results. I would wait with my conclusions until the final completion of the first edition of the "new" evaluation according to Law 2.0.
– said Professor Elżbieta Żądzińska, Rector of the University of Lodz, during the panel discussion.
The data collected in scientific reporting is not only used for evaluation purposes but is also essential for ranking universities. Managing such data is currently not possible without appropriate IT tools. Therefore, in the next ScienceCon session, the participants focused on discussing how to build the reputation of a university internationally by using modern IT solutions for science management.
The final session of the conference was dedicated to THE Impact Rankings – the only university ranking list based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Representatives of the Times Higher Education familiarised the conference participants with the subject of the rankings and talked about the backstage of their creation. They also presented the methodology and results of the latest edition of THE Impact Rankings 2022 with a special focus on the Polish universities that applied for the ranking.
The next ScienceCon conference is scheduled for the next year.
Source: ScienceCon 2022
Edit: Promotion Centre of the University of Lodz