A key recommendation in the Rankings Influencers research is to ensure that academics are attending high-quality international conferences, a key factor in building reputation.

I was there to run some reputation workshops for Japanese universities keen to improve their image, and attract more international students, plus present findings of a study for the British Council in Japan on how UK universities made the most of the Olympics.

The first Discover the World 100 event took place recently in Amsterdam. The event engaged directors from top-ranked northern European Universities including 7 of the 11 world-ranked Dutch institutions.

Following the success of previous years, Keio University will again host the annual Experience Japan Exhibition 2014, in collaboration with the British Council, on Saturday, 15 November,13:00 - 18:00 at the Royal Society, London.