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campusreview.com.au
Rankings slip for Oz
Australia loses podium position in
global rankings by subject.
T
here’s no bronze for Australian subjects this year.
The Swiss higher education system is now home to the
third-highest number of departments among the top 10 in their
discipline, relegating Australia to fourth place.
It’s the first time Australia has not been in the top three in this regard
in the QS World University Rankings by Subject.
The drop is less to do with Australia’s efforts than Switzerland’s, as
Australia retains 18 top 10 departments: the same number as last year.
Australia did, however, have fewer departments among the top 50
in the world, with 201 – nine fewer than last year. The trend continues
lower down the list, with the number of top 100 departments
dropping from 356 to 340.
Tsinghua University sundial.
China’s time to shine
Australia’s biggest Asia-Pacific competitors
for 2019 revealed in THE rankings.
C
hina’s Tsinghua University seems to be going from strength to
strength, at least as far as university rankings are concerned.
It nabbed the top spot on Times Higher Education’s (THE)
4
But it’s not all bad news. The latest list, released by global higher
education analysts QS Quacquarelli Symonds, revealed the University
of Melbourne has 38 top 50 departments, the most of any Australian
institution. It was followed by the University of Sydney with 30, ANU
with 26, Monash with 25 and the University of Queensland with 24.
All in all, there are 48 subject tables, and Australia is represented
among the top 50 in 47 of them. The only exception is Mechanical,
Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering, as the University of
Sydney this year dropped out of the top 50.
One particular Aussie diamond on the list was Curtin University’s
Mineral and Mining Engineering discipline. It nabbed silver, topping
the four other Australian institutions in the world’s top 10 schools
– the University of Western Australia hit 4th, the University of
Queensland was 5th, and the University of NSW reached 6th.
Another success story came from ANU. It ranked among the global
top 10 for seven different subjects, up from four last year. ANU’s
philosophy department rose 15 places to rank 5th.
QS said despite Switzerland’s improvements, ANU’s perennially
strong performances are symptomatic of a dataset that suggests
Australia still remains home to many outstanding subject providers.
Ben Sowter, director of research at QS, said: “[Australia] has
increased its share of top-rated research departments to its highest
proportion ever, and its leading faculties offer an educational standard
comparable to anywhere on the planet.
“The sector does see its number of top-rated departments for
graduate employability decrease, and this is indicative of the urgent
efforts being made by universities around the world to strengthen the
links between education and work.” ■
list of Asia-Pacific universities, beating out the National University
of Singapore and Australia’s best performer – the University of
Melbourne, which reclaimed its podium position after dropping down
to 4th last year.
It’s a first for the Beijing-based university, which counts Chinese
president Xi Jinping among its alumni, and it moves up from second
in the 2018 ranking to become the first institution in mainland China
to hit the top spot on the list.
UniMelb vice-chancellor Duncan Maskell said its ranking revealed
improved scores for the university across several indicators, including
teaching and the proportion of its revenue derived from industry.
“Establishing, maintaining and growing teaching and research links
with industry and other partners, including government and the not-
for-profit sector, is a priority for the university,” Maskell said.
He added that rather than looking at teaching in isolation, it’s one
of a number of things UniMelb is focused on to improve student
experience, such as curriculum, libraries and diverse student
accommodation.
Australian National University was the only other Australian
institution to crack the top 10, remaining at 8th place, the same as
last year.
Also ranking above it were the Hong Kong University of Science
and Technology, the University of Hong Kong, Peking University, and
Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.
The University of Queensland fell out of the top 10 this year,
dropping from 9th place to 12th, while the University of Sydney
remained at 11.
Monash University and UNSW Sydney made the top 20, at 15 and
equal 19 respectively, though both slid down the ladder. ■