University research at top end of world standard - Sydney Morning Herald - Sydney Morning Herald

When it comes to world-class research, more than half of Australian universities' overall performance is at or above world standards.

MORE than half Australian universities' overall research performance is at or above world standards, analysis by the federal government shows.

The Science and Research Minister, Chris Evans, said the number of disciplines in which Australian universities perform above the world standard had doubled.

At the same time the number of disciplines with research rated at or above the world standard has increased by 18 per cent, from 385 to 455, since the last analysis. Research outputs were up by 24 per cent.

He said the report ''shows Australia is on track to have 10 universities in the world's top 100 by 2025'' - the target set in the government's Australia in the Asian century white paper.

But in the fields of education and human society, economics, commerce and maths, and information and computing sciences, average research performance falls below international benchmarks.

The Australian National University scored the highest ratings overall. On a five-point scale, where one is well below the world standard, three is equal to the world standard and five is well above the world standard, the ANU scored an average of 4.3 for 62 disciplines. The universities of Sydney, Queensland and Melbourne ranked an equal second, with average scores of 4.1, followed by Monash University, the University of NSW and the University Western Australia, each with 3.9.

In NSW, the universities of Newcastle and Wollongong scored better on average than Macquarie University and the University of Technology, Sydney.

Although there were one-third more research discipline strengths in Victoria than NSW, the rankings give NSW four spots in the national top 10, but Victoria only two.

The Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) evaluation of research performance looked at the work of more than 60,000 university staff, $8.7 billion in external research funding and 413,000 publications and other research outputs between 2005 and 2010. Research active disciplines at each university were rated by expert panels.

The biological sciences, health and medical sciences, and language, communications and culture were the three strongest performing areas overall. Education, economics, and commerce management tourism and services - most of which have experienced big enrolment increases under the federal government's policies to widen access to universities - were comparatively low performers.

''There are some core fundamental disciplines where Australia is not shining as brightly as we might wish it to be,'' the deputy vice-chancellor of research at the University of NSW, Professor Les Field, said, nominating maths, chemistry, education and economics. The assessment ''is probably pointing to the need for further investment and resources to be directed to these areas'', he said.

The assessment is useful in providing a more solid base for strategic planning in research investment, said Emeritus Professor Frank Larkins of the University of Melbourne. He said the national averages masked pockets of true excellence, but the basis of the ''world standard'' benchmarks was not sufficiently clear.

Australia is ''not a large enough country economically to invest in all disciplines at a high level in all 41 universities, therefore we do have to concentrate our resources to maximise performance against national needs and international benchmarks'', he said.

A consultant and independent analyst of Australia's research system, Thomas Barlow, said the ERA confirmed other evidence ''Australian research in the social sciences is weak relative to the top performing institutions internationally''.

The federal government's target to have 10 per cent of the world's top 100 universities within 13 years was an ''extraordinarily disproportionate'' target for a small economy such as Australia's.

The chief executive of Universities Australia, Belinda Robinson, said: ''With such significant amounts of funding stripped from research programs this year, a key question will be how long this strong research performance can be maintained." .