Australian universities amongst top in the world

Australian universities have managed to secure strong positions in the 2015-16 Times Higher Education World University rankings released on Wednesday. The report showed that out of the 70 surveyed, Australia is the seventh most represented country and has eight institutions in the batch of top 200 universities, and 22 in the top 400.

The University of Melbourne maintained its 33rd position, which it held last year, making it the top performer in the country. The Australian National University lost its 45th position from last year to 52nd, and became the only institution in the top eight to have lost its ranking from the previous year. Sydney University climbed to the 56th spot from 60 last year.

Rankings editor Phil Baty said it has been a good year for Australian universities as they notably improved the quality of their research papers, which helped them measure up on a global standard. But he also noted that funding for universities needs to be increased to improve the quality of research and maintain high global standards.

"Australia will have to raise its game to ensure it can compete with the leading western powerhouses of the US and the UK and rising stars in Asia that are heavily investing in research," he said. "World class universities need world class funding, they need the resources to pay the salaries to retain the academic staff, to attract top research staff from around the world.”

Vice-chancellor of the University of Melbourne Glyn Davis was pleased that the institution secured the top position amongst the Australian universities for another year. "The university wants to provide current and future generations with education and research equal to the best in the world," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Davis as saying. "Results like this one show that we remain on the right path to achieving this goal."

Top Eight Universities Of Australia