campusreview . com . au news
Reputation ranking
World ’ s academics weigh up Aussie unis .
The world ’ s universities have been
weighed up by academics and they ’ ve again put six Australian institutions in the top 100 .
Times Higher Education ( THE ) has released the 2020 edition of its World Reputation Rankings , which canvasses the opinions of the globe ’ s academics through an invitation-only survey .
It targets only experienced , published scholars , who sound off on excellence in research and teaching within their disciplines and at institutions with which they are familiar .
The University of Melbourne made it into the top 50 . It came in at number 39 , up from equal 44th last year .
The University of Sydney moved up a band from 61-70 to 51-60 , while Australian National University remained firm in the 71-80 band . UNSW Sydney again placed in the 91-100 band , while the University of Queensland climbed out of it and into one of the 81-90 spots .
The biggest jump came from Monash University after it leapt from the 91-100 band up into 71-80 .
Monash said it gained 25 places in the category of Teaching Reputation to rank 71 in the world , while in Research Reputation it improved eight places to 83rd .
Monash University vice-chancellor Professor Margaret Gardner said : “ These are remarkable gains across all three reputation categories , as voted by our peers in the global higher education sector .”
Overall , academics put Harvard University at the top of the list , followed by MIT and Stanford University . The University of Cambridge was fourth , while at number 10 the University of Tokyo was the top Asian university . It was the Japanese institution ’ s best performance since 2013 .
This year , the rankings for the first time included 200 universities , up from 100 in the previous edition .
In an article on the ladder ’ s latest edition , rankings editor at THE Ellie Bothwell said the expansion of the table means that Germany is now home to the third-highest number of the world ’ s most prestigious institutions , behind the US and the UK .
“ Australia , which is still the third most represented nation in the top 100 , drops down to joint ninth overall ,” Bothwell said . ■
Staying home
Warning as estimated 100,000 students to miss out on study abroad .
It ’ s possible 100,000 Australian students
will be unable to travel overseas to study due to travel restrictions in
2020 and 2021 . That ’ s the estimate consultancy firm
Studymove put forward on the back
of its survey of university students , commissioned by the International Education Association of Australia ( IEAA ).
The survey sought to understand how the virus may or may not have altered Australian students ’ plans to study overseas , and canvassed opinions on the importance of having that opportunity as part of the university experience and future employability goals .
In 2018 , more than 52,000 Australians travelled overseas to study , but the firm said with COVID-19 putting the number of students in learning abroad programs close to zero , universities may see 100,000 students unable to participate through to 2021 .
Studymove warned that this may have a “ domino effect ” for students beyond a missed travel experience . The group said it will have a lasting impact on career outcomes and overall employability goals .
Women will be disproportionately affected as they experience greater participation in such programs . “ Social and workplace barriers often mean women are overlooked for international assignments ,” the survey report read .
“ Experience living abroad as a student can demonstrate motivation and commitment to future employers at critical times in their careers .”
Only 9 per cent of students surveyed felt that international study experience was either not important or only slightly important to building their employability skills , while 55 per cent deemed it fairly or very important .
While 22 per cent of students said they no longer planned to study overseas , the majority ( 56 per cent ) indicated that they would still like to do so and a similar number said they would consider study experiences in a country with low levels of COVID-19 .
“ Based on these results , it will be important to effectively consider and manage travel bubbles which enable students to undertake an international experience in a safe environment ,” the report ’ s authors wrote .
Speaking to The Australian , IEAA chief executive Phil Honeywood echoed the call for attention to be paid to travel bubbles “ so we can hit the ground running and identify which markets we can get Australians into quickly ”. ■
3