Another round of research metrics, scores and ranking came out with the latest release of the ScholarGPS global rankings. Although relatively new, these rankings are increasingly gaining traction, with universities and mainstream media beginning to reference them more widely.
In the 2025 ScholarGPS rankings, I was placed as the top-ranked researcher globally in entrepreneurship education, and 40th overall in entrepreneurship over the preceding five years. Being ranked first in entrepreneurship education my original area of research and passion, is an achievement I am particularly proud of.
In recent years my research has tended to move into entrepreneurship, knowledge management and wider business fields as I have taken on a mentoring role, leading business and management research at the University of Worcester. This shift may make it harder to remain at the very top of the rankings in the years ahead. Nevertheless, it is deeply rewarding to know that I reached the summit of my original research passion, something I never anticipated when I first entered the field of entrepreneurship education around 2014.
The second part of our trip took us to Zhejiang, with visits to both Hangzhou and Jinhua to see the Zhejiang Normal University campus. Hangzhou was a city I hadn’t visited before, so it was great to finally have the chance to explore. I walked around West Lake, visited Xiangji Temple, and wandered through the historic streets around Hefang. One of the highlights of the weekend was trekking up Lingyin Mountain and exploring the temple complex. I was caught in a torrential rainstorm while up in the mountains, but it didn’t dampen the experience, the afternoon still felt like a peaceful escape just outside the city. Hangzhou offers a wonderful blend of rich culture and tradition, modern infrastructure, and beautiful natural scenery right on its doorstep.
Being in Hangzhou gave me the chance to meet colleagues at Zhejiang University, which hosts the journal Entrepreneurship Education, where I serve on the Editorial Board. I also previously contributed to a book on Comparative Entrepreneurship Education led by colleagues there, but until now we had never met in person. It was therefore a real pleasure to finally visit Zhejiang University and connect with the team face-to-face.
After spending some time exploring Hangzhou, I attended meetings at Zhejiang Normal University’s Hangzhou campus, where we also met with parents of students on our dual-degree programme. From there, we travelled to the main Zhejiang Normal University campus in Jinhua. However, we soon found ourselves back in Hangzhou for an additional induction with a new group of students, which meant a fair bit of zipping back and forth between Jinhua and Hangzhou.
Jinhua is a great city to explore, affordable, easy to navigate, and, like Hangzhou, offering quick access to the surrounding mountains. This gave me the chance to visit the Shuanglong Scenic Area, with its caves, temples, and lakes. I went on a quiet day, which made the visit peaceful and serene; it felt like a completely different side of China compared to the bustling cities we’d been in the week before.
One of the main highlights was the Double-Dragon Cave (Shuanglong Cave), which you enter by lying flat in a small boat to pass through a very low opening, a slightly claustrophobic squeeze before the cavern opens up to reveal beautiful waterfalls inside. Even so, the best part may have been simply walking through the natural landscape around the Lunv Lake, tea plantations, and temples, breathing in the mountain air. It was a memorable and refreshing contrast to the busier parts of the trip. In the evenings, I was able to visit Guzi City (Guzicheng) and Wanfo Pagoda, the historic old town area of Jinhua set along the riverside. This made for a nice break between lesson observations and meetings with our registered lecturers at Zhejiang Normal University.
After leaving Jinhua, we headed to Nanchang for the final leg of our trip to visit Nanchang Hangkong University.
Robin Bell 