The “Reconsidering World-class University:Global university rankings, academic excellence, policy borrowing and national relevancy” themed conference organized by organized by Istanbul Kültür University (IKU) and Association for Higher Education Studies (AHES), took place at Aska Lara Resort&Spa, Antalya, Turkey, on October 12-14, 2017. In addition, pre-conference workshops were organized on October 11, 2017 and applied workshops were realized on quantitative and qualitative research methods.
The main goal of this conference was to promote collaboration, share and discuss emerging trends, research findings and theoretical perspectives in the context of higher education. In order to achieve this, the conference had the opportunity to elaborate on the emerging trends and educational models on the way to becoming world-class universities. Also, the conference examined the current place of higher education institutions with relation to national and international dimensions in order to meet the needs of economic, social, political and cultural needs of our country and focused on suggestions for macro policies, reforms and methods within the context of changing expectations, opportunities and challenges together with the trends, roles and organizations of higher education in Turkey and in the world.
The conference whose organizing committee consisted of the members of AHES and IKU College of Education began with opening remarks by Dr. Fatma Nevra Seggie and Dr. Özge Hacıfazlıoğlu. As the keynote speakers, Emeritus Prof.Dr. Jamil Salmi attented the conference with his speech entitled “The Road to Academic Excellence: Challenges and Opportunities in the Construction of World-Class Universities” and Prof. Dr. Ural Akbulut attended the conference with his speech entitled “University Rankings and Prospective Students”. Three panels in Turkish were moderated, and “the role of university on the way to opportunity equality”, “new generation university” and “partnerships in education” were discussed in those panels.
The conference brought together around 110 participants interested in the academic and administrative sides of higher education studies (rectors, faculty members, Master and Ph.D. students). Academicians and students from different countries attended this international conference and in addition to the keynote speakers speeches and panel discussions, around 100 presentations in 24 different sessions were given. More information on the conference committees, presenters, and session abstracts can be found in the 2nd International Higher Education Studies Conference (IHEC 2017) Booklet. All conference announcements were posted on the IHEC 2017 website, which was created both in English and Turkish, and all abstract submissions were made through the submission form on the website.
