Transactions on Data Analysis in Social Science

Transactions on Data Analysis in Social Science

Forecasting the position of science, technology, and innovation in higher education institutions of the world in the global ranking system using artificial neural networks

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
S. Fatahi 1
F. Amiri 2
1 Assistant Professor, Information Technology Research Institute, Iran Science and Information Technology Research Institute (Irandoc), Tehran, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Engineering, Hamedan University of Technology, Hamedan, Iran
10.47176/TDASS.2022.107
Abstract
In recent years, evaluating the performance quality of universities and higher education institutions has become a global priority. To meet this need, numerous ranking systems have been developed, each employing different indicators to assess institutional performance. In Iran, the "Positioning System of Science, Technology, and Innovation of Iran in the World" (NAMA), implemented by the Iranian Research Institute for Science and Technology (IRANDOC), provides regular reports on the status of national universities and higher education institutions according to key global benchmarks. Beyond assessment, however, the ability to predict future performance based on past and current data is a vital component of strategic planning and decision-making. Institutions that can forecast trends with minimal error are better positioned to identify effective strategies and improve their competitiveness in global ranking systems. This study applies artificial neural networks (ANN) to predict the rankings of universities and higher education institutions within the Times Higher Education (THE) framework. The results demonstrate that the proposed ANN model is capable of predicting THE ranking indicators, overall scores, and institutional standings with satisfactory accuracy. These findings highlight the potential of ANN as a decision-support tool for improving the global visibility and strategic planning of universities.
Keywords
Times Higher Education Ranking System
Time Series Data
Prediction
NAMA (Positioning System of Science
Technology
And Innovation of Iran In The World)
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Transactions on Data Analysis in Social Science
Volume 4, Issue 3
Summer 2022
Pages 107-112

  • Receive Date 08 April 2022
  • Revise Date 12 June 2022
  • Accept Date 24 August 2022