¿Puede el sistema universitario español situar a una de sus universidades en el top 100 mundial?

Abstract

This paper aims to show the results of a research project on the performance of the Spanish higher education and science system. Our goals are, firstly, finding out why none Spanish university has ever reached the top-100 on the major rankings and, secondly, analyzing if it is possible that a Spanish institution manages to reach the top-100 in a near future. We have developed an analysis of secondary data taken from different databases and reports. Our findings show that Spanish universities barely compete between them to attract talented students –almost 9 out of 10 students (85%) study in their home region–. Spanish universities neither compete to hire high-profile researchers. The vast majority of academics that have been awarded a tenured position had been employed by the Department prior to getting the tenure. The recruitment system is highly inbreeded. Besides, salaries are little related to productivity and are fixed by law, so universities cannot negotiate wages with potential candidates. The latter reduces mobility. The funding comes mainly from central and regional governments and its relation with the performance of institutions is weak. All these facts make very difficult that a Spanish university reaches the world top 100 in the near future. Keywords: university, rankings, indicators, performance, inbreeding, mobility, funding.