International Rankings The positioning of the Italian HEIs

I got the idea of gathering the key data available about Italian universities in the major international rankings for two reasons. First, when I publish posts on
rankings in my LinkedIn profile, these often engage the vast public and generate discussion. Mainly, the debate rotates around the year-by-year gain or loss of
positions Italian HEIs have to register if compared to similar European systems.

If the ultimate question is always why Italy does not occupy the first positions in rankings, the tentative answer I reply to such arguments is threefold: on the one
hand, Italy does not sponsor any “excellence initiative”, similar to those that, for example, Germany and Russia are capable to finance. This implies that Italian
lawmakers do not, automatically, invest in the best institutions: the Country invests in the system as a whole.

On the other hand, very few Italian HEIs run dedicated offices for rankings, or units within broader offices, which are exactly in charge of dealing with international rankings providers. Most universities just forward, on a yearly basis, the data rankings publishing houses require, without taking an active stand, organising, manning, and educating devoted staff. Thirdly, Italian universities appear under-financed by the central administration, if compared to other systems of the same size.

The other reason for me researching and writing this report is that, at the time of release, no such study is available for Italy: the hope is that the present,
necessarily incomplete and probably superficial effort will be soon outshined by a more comprehensive and thoughtful work.

 

Enrico Sartor, December 2020

 

The report is freely downloadable here.