The University of Navarra is hosting this week an international congress on university reputation, which will be attended by more than 250 people representing 72 institutions and 48 speakers, all from 18 countries.

The meeting, which will take place between April 22 and 24, will addressuniversity reputation and rankings and will be attended by rectors and other university authorities, representatives of the main international rankings, consultants, university managers and members of the administration.

According to Juan Manuel Mora, Vice President of Communication at the University of Navarra and member of the organizingcommittee , the goal is to create a forum for dialogue to think together about how a university can cultivate its international reputation. "Managing intangibles is not easy and learning opportunities are very welcome," he says.

The success of a university, says the expert, depends on the fulfillment of its goals, that it achieves its mission statement of teaching, researching and transferring the knowledge to society, with a good level of quality. "In this general framework , each university has to decide which are its differential characteristics, in which aspects it wants to distinguish itself. Then it will be in a position to determine concrete indicators that will help it evaluate progress."

In his opinion, the rankings choose certain parameters that they consider relevant and classify universities according to these parameters. "The rankings are necessary, but partial, they have to be managed with prudence," he says.

Speakers from Oxford, Harvard and the main international rankings.

The congress Building Universities' Reputation 2015 will be inaugurated this Wednesday 22nd, at 15:30h., by Yolanda Barcina, president of the Government of Navarra; Alfonso Sánchez-Tabernero, President of the University of Navarra; and Vice President Juan Manuel Mora.

The international meeting will analyze, among other topics, the relationship between reputation and social responsibility, how a positive, stable and solid image of an institution is formed, the consequences of a good reputation, how rankings influence the choice of universities and what a strategic vision of communication contributes to the process of improving reputation.

The congress has counted with the partnership of institutions such as the European Foundation Society and Education, Universia, the CRUE, Corporate Excellence, Dircom, the British Council, CASE or World 100 Reputation Network. The preparatory document has run to position of Full Professor Víctor Pérez-Díaz, President of Analistas partner-Políticos (ASP) and award National Sociology and Political Science in 2014, and the sociologist and researcher of Analistas partner-Políticos, Juan Carlos Rodríguez.

Speakers include Rupert Younger, director of the Center for Corporate Reputation at Oxford University; Louise Simpson, director of The World 100 Reputation Network; Paul Andrew, vice president for communications at Harvard University; and Jan Sadlak, president of the Observatory on Academic Ranking and Excellence, who will moderate the roundtable with representatives of the most important international rankings.