The quality of research at Charles Darwin University has again been recognised, this time through the Federal Government’s Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative.
The ERA initiative, illustrating exactly how Australia’s research efforts compare to the rest of the world, saw CDU receive scores of four out of a maximum of five in several research areas.
Environmental Science and Management, Zoology, Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences, Medical Microbiology and Clinical Sciences all received performance rankings above the world standard.
At a broad discipline level, CDU was ranked at or above world average on 50 per cent of the research disciplines for which it was assessed.
CDU was also ranked by the Australian Research Council as one of the top ten universities in Australia in Environmental Science & Management, Zoology, Agricultural and Veterinary Science and Medical Microbiology.
CDU Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research & International, Professor Bob Wasson said the result highlighted both the productivity of the university’s researchers and the high quality of their work.
“The ERA rankings reinforce the university’s strategy of focusing resources in areas of strength, a strategy consistent with the policy of the Federal Government,” he said.
CDU Director Office of Research & Innovation, Jenny Carter said as a small regional university, she was extremely pleased with the extent of high quality research underway at CDU.
“CDU researchers collaborate across disciplines to develop strong research teams to tackle complex issues,” she said.
“We also place a high priority on research collaboration with universities and industry partners both in Australia and internationally.”
Dr Carter also pointed to the great work continually being undertaken by the Menzies School of Health Research as a key contributor to the quality and capacity of research at CDU.
"The results in the Medical and Health Sciences from CDU, the majority of which come from research at Menzies, place CDU at or above world standard in almost every health field we work in, and show that we definitely punch above our weight nationally,” Menzies Director, Professor Jonathan Carapetis said.
The latest ranking comes on the back of CDU being recognised in the top five Australian universities in active research by the Spain-based SCImago Institutions 2009 World Report, and its result in Australia's Good Universities Guide 2011 which saw the institution receive the highest possible rating of five stars for research intensivity.
ERA outcomes will inform the allocation of funding through the Sustainable Research Excellence program, and will be included as a key measure of research performance in the Government’s Compacts negotiations with universities.