Uni of Adelaide soars up global rankings tables

Professor Mike Brooks.
Photograph: Roy Van Der Vegt, The Advertiser

2014 has seen the University of Adelaide achieve impressive rises in all three of the leading global rankings.

The most dramatic leap upwards was in the Times Higher Education rankings, released in October. Adelaide moved up 45 places to claim 164th spot; the greatest rise of any Australian research-intensive university.

In July, the Academic Ranking of World Universities (produced by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University) ranked Adelaide as a top 200 university. Adelaide also fared extremely well in the QS rankings, released in September, which recognised the University in its top 100.

Professor Mike Brooks, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of Adelaide, couldn't be more pleased with the results.

"It's been tremendous to move into a higher band in each of the world's three major ranking schemes," said Professor Brooks. "The results are especially good when we remember that there are around 17,000 universities in the world, so we're consistently in the top 1%."

Professor Brooks believes that the improvement in rankings comes as a result of the University's sustained commitment to excellence and its ability to generate world-class, influential research contributions.

"A commitment to excellence is precisely what the University's strategic plan affirms," said Professor Brooks.

"While some of the Plan's specific initiatives, such as stimulating interdisciplinary research and increasing the number of PhD student scholarships, will take time to bear fruit, others such as the appointment of additional top-tier researchers and publishing more outcomes in prestigious academic journals, are already paying off," he explained.

"Our aim is to be in the top 100 of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University ranking within the decade."