The Organizing Committee of the Second Conference of the Hanseatic League of Universities has formed a task force to prepare a new university ranking system. It is titled “World’s Universitieswith Real Impact (WURI)” and evaluates the university’s real contributions to our society. WURI highlights creative and innovative approaches to university research and education that focus on:

 

Industrial applications, rather than the traditional ways of counting research papers and lecture-type teaching;

Value-creating startups and entrepreneurship, rather than a traditional focus on the number of jobs filled; and

Social responsibility, ethics, and integrity, rather than a focus on knowledge and skills just for material success.

Student mobility and openness for exchange and collaboration between schools and across national borders, rather than an independent yet closed system.