ARWU boost for our international profile and standing
The University of Tasmania's drive to enhance its international profile and standing has received a boost from the latest Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU).
In addition to UTAS moving up in the world rankings to 325, it has consolidated its position as the 10th - ranked institution in Australia, behind the coalition of major universities known as the Group of Eight, and Macquarie University in Sydney.
"The world ranking is a modest but nonetheless pleasing gain on 2012, given the strong competition that we face globally and straitened times domestically," the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Peter Rathjen, said.
"These rankings underscore the dedication and hard work of our staff and students as they strive for research excellence. Recent and ongoing recruitment of new academic staff and a jump in research income should ensure that we continue to make gains globally.
"Add the fact that we are also the best teaching university in Australia and we have good reason to celebrate."
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Paddy Nixon, said UTAS' performance in a number of key indicators contributed to its ARWU result.
"These include the number of papers published in the prestigious journals Nature and Science, and per capita performance.
"More broadly, between 2011 and 2012 we saw a 17.5 per cent increase in publications."
The ARWU is conducted by researchers at the Centre for World-Class Universities at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Photo caption: Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre PhD candidate David Ward. Photo by Peter Mathew.