The State of Australian University Research 2018–19: ERA National Report has been released. The report evaluates the quality of Australian university research, benchmarked against world standards in a comprehensive way. This was the fourth ERA report, the last report released was in 2015.
The report rates university disciplines from one to five, with five being highest. This year, five universities received the highest score for ophthalmology and optometry, being University of Western Australia, University of Sydney, Australian National University, Flinders University of South Australia, and University of Tasmania.
Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and the University of Melbourne received a rating of four, and the University of New South Wales and Macquarie University received a rating of three. While most university’s ratings remained the same as they were in 2015, The University of Melbourne dropped a point while QUT and University of Western Australia rose one point.
Professor Sue Thomas, CEO of the Australian Research Council described ERA as “a comprehensive assurance mechanism for providing confidence to Government and the Australian public about their investment in Australian university research… The ERA 2018 outcomes show that Australian universities are not only maintaining the quality of their research, but also are continuing to improve – with more disciplines rated at world standard or higher right across the discipline spectrum. This report identifies where our research strengths lie, across all universities and disciplines.”
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