The Director of the Institutional Research Center and Council Secretary of the City University of Hong Kong, Prof. Kevin Downing, held a lecture on Tuesday, at King Abdul-Aziz Support Hall, on world university rankings and the means of supporting the competitiveness of Umm Al-Qura University on the regional and international level. This lecture was offered in the presence of His Excellency the Vice President of the University, Prof. Farid Al-Ghamdi, and a number of the academic staff members and affiliates of the university.

During the lecture, Prof. Kevin tackled the ranking of the universities in the middle east in the QS World University Rankings, and talked about the most prominent points that this classification depends on, such as the general impression of the employees and the affiliates of the educational institution, the number of scholarship students that the university receives from different countries, and the ratio of PhD holders from among the administrative employees. He stressed the importance of communication among the affiliates of the institution as well as the good relation between the academic staff and the students. He pointed out that this is needed to create a sound educational environment that promotes cognitive quality and improves the efficiency of the graduates.

Next, Dr. Kevin talked about the means of making use of technology in academic work, the value of e-learning and its keeping pace with development, and the easiness of accessing it to create an integrated educational circle. He also tackled the strategies of academic distinction, the importance of making use of potentials and capabilities, and the significance of seizing research opportunities on the regional and international level.

On the margin of the lecture, His Excellency the President of the University, Prof. Abdullah Bafail, received Prof. Kevin Downing at his office. During the meeting, they discussed the most prominent international accredited standards in ranking world universities. They also tackled the most important points that the QS ranking uses. This meeting took place in the presence of His Excellency the Vice President of the University, Prof. Farid Al-Ghamdi, and the Assistant Vice President for Development and Community Service, Dr. Khalid Barqawi.