A recent kerfuffle over the global ranking of King Abdulaziz University for having a large number of highly cited researchers spotlights not a 'manipulation of numbers' scandal as implied by some academics, but the difficulty Saudi universities face in establishing collaborative relationships with western universities.
According to Thomson Reuters, the University of California, citing primary or secondary affiliations, ranked No. 1 with 198 highly cited researchers. King Abdulaziz University came in second with 163.
In another Thomson Reuters report prepared by a University of Quebec professor, Saudi Arabia claimed 82 percent of highly cited researchers as a secondary affiliation. These are high numbers indeed for an institution with little track record of academic research.
Academic research is the lifeblood of any university. Research, of course, benefits medicine and science among other fields and provides technological advances that are important to global economies and give people fuller, richer lives. But serious academic research also means millions of dollars in funding. Grants are the engines that keep universities running and the more highly cited researchers mean more funds for universities. Continuing research funding gives universities prestige. Top-ranking universities with highly cited researchers have an edge over lower ranked institutions in obtaining that funding.
For the past decade Saudi universities have been forging relations with the best western universities, including Stanford, USC, MIT and numerous other institutions.
There are legitimate questions why King Abdulaziz University ranks near the top in highly cited researchers. The university up until now had not been considered by international academics as a high-quality place of learning. And it’s only been recently that King Abdulaziz University’s name has appeared in other higher learning rankings.
But the issue is not whether King Abdulaziz University is manipulating numbers, but rather in its quest to improve the quality of its education, it has failed to develop full collaborative relationship with professors of other universities.
Saudi universities recruit western academics as adjunct professors with the intent to pay them a salary, give them classes to teach and mentor Saudi professors. In exchange, any research the visiting professor publishes will include the Saudi university as a secondary affiliation to their home institution. But the reality often gets in the way of such dreams. For one, Saudi universities as a rule do not put a premium on research, and in fact discourage research as too time consuming and not beneficial to the immediate needs of the university and its students. Second, policies governing the addition of western adjunct professors to Saudi faculties are often half-baked.
One case involving a Saudi university recruiting a British professor that resulted in absolutely no benefit to the university but a fantastic financial reward to the professor illustrates problems Saudi academic administrators face. The professor has an impeccable reputation in his field as a prolific researcher published in numerous academic journals. He spent a week in Saudi Arabia, gave two lectures and received £10,000 for his trouble. He had no contract that obliged him to provide more of his expertise to the university. While the university may receive credit in his next research paper as a secondary affiliation, it did not benefit from the professor’s expertise.
I attribute these failings to the growing pains a university goes through to raise its academic standards, become competitive to attract important academics and enhance its reputation in the international community. In the meantime, we are not benefiting from visiting professors’ knowledge or creating stronger technological development in Saudi Arabia. In our eagerness to attract the best and brightest professors from other countries, we are giving away the store. It’s not an equal partnership, making the rankings of universities with the most highly cited research ring hollow.
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