City University of Hong Kong
CityUHK Announcement Portal (CAP)
City University of Hong Kong
CityUHK Announcement Portal (CAP)

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(Reminder) COM Research Semianr: Sustainability and University Governance in Asia and Taiwan - How Do Global Rankings and Quality Assurance Measure University’s SDGs? by Prof Angela Yung Chi HOU
(POSTED: 2025-11-01 12:00 AM )
COM Research Seminar: COM Research Semianr: Sustainability and University Governance in Asia and Taiwan - How Do Global Rankings and Quality Assurance Measure University’s SDGs? by Prof Angela Yung Chi HOU, College of Education, National Chengchi University, Taiwan. Date & Time: 3 November 2025, 14:30 - 16:30. Venue: Multimedia Laboratory (M5055),5/F, Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre, please click https://www.cityu.edu.hk/com/Public/AppForms/StI_AppForm.aspx?id=1281 to register for the seminar by 3 Nov 2025. Language: English. Abstract Universities have increasingly recognized their critical role in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of their broader societal responsibilities. With the global momentum surrounding the UN 2030 Agenda, many Asian governments have begun to adopt more proactive policies addressing key sustainability themes such as clean energy, green economies, and decarbonized transportation. These policy shifts have, in turn, encouraged higher education institutions (HEIs) to embed sustainability into their institutional strategies, governance structures, and operational practices. In response to the growing recognition of universities' societal contributions, global university rankings have begun to evolve by incorporating new indicators that assess institutional performance beyond traditional academic metrics. Specifically, they now include dimensions such as the ‘third mission,’ sustainability initiatives, and social impact. However, traditional global rankings—widely disseminated in mass media—are often portrayed as objective measures of “quality” or “excellence.” In reality, they tend to rely on narrow criteria such as research output, citation metrics, reputational surveys, and levels of internationalization. These limitations are rarely communicated in the media, leading to an oversimplified and commodified view of higher education, which reinforces competitive market logics and global hierarchies.This lecture will focus on two major sustainability-focused global rankings—Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings and the QS Sustainability Rankings—both of which have developed new methodological frameworks to assess universities' alignment with the SDGs. The presentation will examine how universities in Taiwan, particularly those featured in these rankings, have responded to the evolving sustainability agenda, while also identifying the challenges they face in integrating these metrics into institutional practices and strategic development. About the speaker: Angela Yung-chi Hou, is Professor of Higher Education at College of Education, National Chengchi University. She served as Executive Director of Higher Education Evaluation & Accreditation Council of Taiwan (HEEACT) from 2016 to 2021. She has been actively committed to quality assurance practices and international research for more than 15 years, including serving as Vice President & Board member of International Network of Quality Assurance in Higher Education (INQAAHE), Vice President & Board member of Asia Pacific Quality Network (APQN). In 2024, she was invited to serve as the INQAAHE international reviewer to accredit quality assurance agencies globally. She is recognized as the top 3 researcher in field of quality assurance of higher education worldwide according to SCOPUS. In 2025, she is being listed as top 2 % as highly cited scholar by ScholarGPS. She serves as Chief-in-Editor of Higher Education Evaluation and Development (HEED) Emerald and Higher Education in Asia: Quality, Excellence and Governance by Springer, Associate Editor of Journal of Asian Pacific Educational Review (SSCI) and Quality in Higher Education (SCOPUS) and several editorial boards of peer-reviewed journals in higher education field. Up to present, she has published more than 150 English and Chinese journal papers, articles, book chapters, reports and monographs in higher education, international education, and quality assurance. In 2023, she was granted “Outstanding Research Award” by National Science and Technology of Taiwan and “Excellent Research Award “at National Chengchi University. In 2024, She was awarded “the Best Researcher and Teacher” and from 2023-2025, she was awarded as “Best Research Award” by National Chengchi University. For enquiries, please call 34428677.
Category:
Academic Seminar
Department:
Department of Media and Communication (COM)
Venue:
Multimedia Laboratory (M5055), 5/F, Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre
Start Date:
2025-11-03 14:30
End Date:
2025-11-03 16:30
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