Melbourne best in Australia in key rankings

The University ranked top in Australia in Teaching (the learning environment), Research (volume, income and reputation) and Citations (measuring research influence); it was also second in Industry Income (innovation and knowledge transfer) and third in International (looking at the proportion of international staff and students).

Melbourne has also been ranked first in Australia and 30th in the world in the Times Engineering & Technology subject ranking in front of UQ (37th), Sydney (40th) and ANU (44th).

Unveiling a new methodology for the 2010-11 World University Rankings, the Times said it “constitutes the most detailed, rigorous and comprehensive study of global university performance ever undertaken”.

Melbourne’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Glyn Davis welcomed the news and said it was encouraging in that it affirmed the University’s new direction, while acknowledging the dedication and hard work of its staff.

“We have embarked on a landmark renewal of the University’s vision. This ranking announcement comes as another welcome validation of our efforts,” Professor Davis says.

“I would like to acknowledge the work of all our teaching staff and researchers, without whom this outstanding result and others would not have been possible.

 “This excellent result continues the trend of improvements in our rankings over the past eight years.’’

The Times ranking followed last month’s affirmation of Melbourne’s research performance in the Shanghai Jiao Tong rankings of world universities, in which it jumped 13 places to be 62nd in the world. The University was also placed 38th in the world in the recent QS World University Rankings table and was Australia’s leading university and 51st in the world in the last Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan performance ranking of scientific papers.

Professor Davis also pointed out that rankings in themselves are not absolute indicators.

“While celebrating these results, we all appreciate that rankings are imprecise, volatile, and focus on different aspects of university performance and reputation. Even internally, the rankings are not consistent; this year’s THE results are based on a different methodology from previous years.

“Rankings are not the only indicator of an institution’s value, but taken together, these rankings and reports provide welcome encouragement for the University’s teaching and research strategies. This is only made possible by the dedication and hard work of academic and professional staff across the University.”