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In tandem with the rise in prominence of university rankings and the internationalization of higher education over the past decade, institutions globally have had to respond to increasing competition for faculty, students, funding and international standing. Rankings have been used as a source of reference by different stakeholders to satisfy informational needs. However, there are clearly limitations as to what can be measured, and an overemphasis on the pursuit of rankings performance will result in unhealthy development for the higher education sector. As Albert Einstein noted:‘Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.’University leaders need to strike a balance on how their institutions deal with rankings, through reflection on the mission of universities in local, regional, and global contexts. The experience of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology …