News

November 6, 2012

Hard work and open, competitive funding underpins world leading research

“The Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) outcomes once again demonstrate that world-leading research is being done throughout the Innovative Research Universities,” said Professor Barney Glover, incoming IRU Chair and Vice-Chancellor Charles Darwin University.

“ERA tells us that high-quality research is undertaken throughout Australia. It confirms the strong ratings that IRU and other Australian universities achieve in international university rankings where all IRU members and half of Australia’s universities feature in the world top 5%. The results give confidence to IRU partners in Government and industry that their investments are being well used.

Across the IRU the number of fields assessed at world standard and above (a rating of 3 or higher) has increased by 19%, with the proportion of all fields assessed at this level rising from 62% to 74%. We are particular pleased that the number of fields where IRU members are well above world standard (the highest rating of 5) has more than doubled from 20 to 42. See Tables below.

Of those fields assessed in both 2010 and 2012, 30% have had their rating improve, a testimony to the growing capability of IRU researchers.

“These results show the value of research funding being open and competitive. This allows IRU members to strengthen their research outcomes, putting pressure on those with longer track records, while challenging IRU members to sustain their performance against the competition from all other universities also seeking to improve research outcomes” Professor Glover said.

“ERA results are a testament to the dedication of a highly skilled research workforce. I congratulate my colleagues across the IRU for these exceptional results.” Professor Glover concluded.