The Conference on Ranking BH Universities at the Webometrics List Held  

The conference on ranking the BH Universities at the Webometrics list under the title “Web Ranking of Universities in B&H”, jointly organized by the University of Sarajevo and the BH Rectors' and with the support of the Embassy of Spain in B&H took place on Wednesday 18 June 2014.


In his welcoming address University of Sarajevo Rector and Chairman of the BH Rectors’ Conference, Prof. Dr. Muharem Avdispahić, Dr. h. c pointed out the fact how academic potentials of BH public universities are not appropriately presented nor to the local public or at the international level. “In the year during which the University of Sarajevo presides over the BH Rectors’ Conference, we have decided to launch an initiative to improve visibility of our universities at the raking lists, among which the first place occupies the Webometrics,” said Rector Avdispahic. He pointed out that out of 42 licensed higher education institutions, 74 are placed at the Webometrics list, which points out our weakness since certain Faculties and institutes act out of domain of their University.

“By changing some details, the advancement will be shown in the July edition, when we expect that strategic moves will be undertaken” said Rector Avdispahic.


Mr. Ignacio Vitorica Hamilton, Deputy Ambassador, addressed the attendees at the behest of the Spanish Embassy. He said that organizing of that conference was a step further in enhancing the academic collaboration between B&H and Spain.

The presenter, Isidro F. Aguillo Cano, Head of Cybermetrics Laboratory and editor of the Webometrics Rankings, stated that Webometrics is not just about the ranking, but the promotion of university’s open approach. “The goal is to enhance the internal democracy of universities, transparency and openness. The aim is not mere research advancement, but the excellence in research. Therefore the goal is to enhance the position of universities within the global ranking class”. 


When it comes to the best universities in world according to web ranking, presenter, Isidro F. Aguillo Cano stated that USA universities excel, where the English language matters. When it comes to the Europe, the best ranked universities are from the Great Britain, followed by French universities, which make advancement through the change of self publishing at the web.

For BH Universities, in order to improve their position at the ranking list, presenter, Isidro F. Aguillo Cano mentioned two strategic approaches – the “top-down model” which infers the complete integration of university in terms of web presence and the “bottom-up” that infers the contributions by each university employee.

The conference introduced the Ranking Web of Universities, explaining its origins, aims and methodology, providing an analysis of the main results. A customized presentation of the current situation of the Bosnian-Herzegovina's universities in the ranking was the starting point for suggesting strategies for improving their ranks and increasing their global web presence.


Speaker: ISIDRO F. AGUILLO is the head of The Cybermetrics Lab, a research group of the Instituto de Políticas y Bienes Públicos (IPP) of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). He is the founder and editor of the electronic journal "Cybermetrics" (since 1997). He is the editor of the Webometrics Rankings, including the Rankings Web of Universities (since 2004), Research Centres (since 2006), Hospitals, Repositories and Business Schools (since 2008). He has published more than 60 papers in international journals on such research topics as evaluation of the scientific activity, electronic journals, open access initiatives and specially webometrics and web indicators. His teaching activity comprises more than 400 workshops, seminars and conferences in more than 80 Universities and professional societies worldwide. In 2009, he was invested Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Indonesia.