Inaugural Times Higher Education Africa Universities Summit at UJ this week

The Summit will be officially opened by former South African President, Thabo Mbeki and will include sessions on key topics, such as 'Resourcing Africa's Renewal', 'Preventing Brain Drain from the Region' and 'Moving the 2063 Initiative Forward'.

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The university rankings provider has revealed the top 15 universities in the region, based solely on their scores for research influence - in other words, how much African universities' research papers are referred to and cited by other academics across the globe. To be included in this future-gazing table, an institution must have published a minimum of 500 research papers in the five-year period assessed with at least 50 papers per year.

The full table, which contains the top 30 universities in the region, will be revealed at the Times Higher Education Africa Universities Summit. Furthermore, as the first major public consultation on the future of the Africa University Rankings, academic leaders and opinion formers will discuss plans for a full and comprehensive ranking for the region.

This new ranking will be based on Times Higher Education's World University Rankings, but shaped following this initial meeting by bespoke metrics designed to meet the region's specific challenges.

More indicators to follow

"Africa's universities sit at the forefront of the continent's renewal and revitalisation," says Prof Ihron Rensburg, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, UJ. "Our challenge is to nurture universities with diverse missions and to contribute towards Africa's high skilled people, research and innovation needs. In this manner, we must all contribute to realising Africa's century. This summit is about moving Africa's universities forward and building our shared global legacy."

Phil Baty, editor at large of Times Higher Education World University Rankings, says, "This is an experimental and preliminary ranking based solely on research and only on one aspect of research - how many times research papers are cited by other academics. When we develop a full Africa University Ranking, we expect to add many more indicators, examining things such as a university's economic contribution, its civic engagement and of course its teaching. So the Africa Universities Summit presents the perfect opportunity to help shape this future ranking and to ensure that Times Higher Education develops the most appropriate and relevant ranking for Africa, in full consultation with African universities."

Speakers

Speakers at the Summit include:
• Adebayo Olukoshi, Director, International IDEA Africa
• Admasu Tsegaye, President, Addis Ababa University
• Albert van Jaarsveld, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, University of KwaZulu-Natal
• Cheryl de la Rey, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, University of Pretoria, and Vice Chair, Talloires Network
• Elena Chernyshkova, Deputy Executive Director Project 5-100, The Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
• Hubert Gijzen, Regional Director and Representative, Southern Africa, UNESCO
• Ihron Rensburg, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, University of Johannesburg
• Mabel Imbuga, Vice Chancellor, Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology
• Ousmane Sène, Director, West African Research Centre (WARC)
• Phil Baty, Editor, Times Higher Education Rankings and Editor at large, Times Higher Education
• Rwekaza Mukandala, Vice-Chancellor, University of Dar es Salaam
• Thandi Mgwebi, Executive Director, Research Chairs and Centres of Excellence, National Research Foundation
• Vijoo Rattansi, Chancellor, University of Nairobi

Times Higher Education Africa Universities Summit Snapshot: Top Fifteen African Universities for Research Excellence. Copyright Times Higher Education. Data source: Elsevier's Scopus