News Archive

By Lindy Brophy

Barry Marshall's Nobel Prize was the final chapter in more than 20 years of research but it marked the beginning of a new story for UWA.

The University's global ranking took a big leap forward with the Nobel Prize and signalled that a place among the world's top universities was a distinct possibility.

Last month, another chapter was written, as UWA entered the internationally-recognised Academic Ranking of World Universities' Top 100.

We jumped 14 places to number 96 and staff are delighted with the synergy of being in the Top 100 in time for UWA's 100th anniversary celebrations.

But like Professor Marshall's research, the work doesn't stop with the celebrations. UWA researchers are working towards being counted in the world's top 50 universities by 2050. According to Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Robyn Owens, we will seek to be ranked by whatever system is used then which also includes teaching and community engagement. It will not be a ranking just by research but as a university as a whole.

The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) was formerly known as the Shanghai Jiao Tong Index and is the most watched and respected of global rankings of educational institutions. The announcement on 15 August was the 10th annual edition of the rankings. Eight of the top 10 places are occupied by US universities, with Harvard taking number one for the tenth consecutive year, and Stanford number two. The only two non-American universities at the top are Cambridge (five) and Oxford (10).

This is the first time that five Australian universities have been ranked in the Top 100. The others are Melbourne (57), ANU (64), University of Queensland (90) and University of Sydney (93). Results by disciplinary fields are also impressive with UWA leading Australia in the Top 50 list, with our agricultural and life sciences (including biomedical sciences) ranked 26th in the world.

Professor O'Donnell, Dean of Science, said that moving up seven places in the category of Agriculture and Life Sciences recognised the sustained efforts of many researchers from across the University to perform at the highest international standards. "I am confident that this significant improvement in our position will provide staff with the impetus to aim higher and in so doing help UWA secure its lead position in this area," he said.

The ARWU has been presenting the world top 500 universities annually since 2003, using objective indicators including Nobel Prizes and Field Medals, numbers of highly-cited researchers, number of articles published in Nature and Science , number of articles in the Science Citation Index and the Social Science Citation Index, and per capita performance.

The index does not include humanities, as these disciplines are not a driver at Chinese universities and the index was initially established, not as a global rating service, but as in indicator for China on what made the world's top universities the best and how to learn from them. The data and comparisons used are traceable but complicated.

When UWA decided it would aim for a high global ranking, researchers were encouraged to publish their work in the two most prestigious journals in the fields of science and social science, Science and Nature . Former Vice- Chancellor, Professor Alan Robson, strongly encouraged international collaboration as a way of improving the University's research output and profile.

"Science publications and our numbers of highly-cited scientists have boosted UWA into the Top 100, but our position reflects equally on researchers in the humanities," Professor Owens said. "There is some cross-disciplinary publishing from humanities academics in science and medical journals, but mostly they publish in books and book chapters, not in journals, and this index is based on journal publications."

She said being in the Top 100 would have a massive impact on our reputation. "An outstanding international reputation attracts the staff and students from overseas. And foreign universities which use the ranking to distribute scholarships for research and research training will be attracted to UWA."

The Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Johnson said the outcome was a tribute to the hard work, dedication and commitment of all UWA staff and a credit to the leadership of the University over the past decade.

Chris Evans, Federal Minister for Tertiary Education, congratulated UWA, saying that five Australian institutions in the Top 100 was due, in part, to the record $37 billion the Government had invested in our universities.

Published in UWA News , 3 September 2012