Swinburne University of Technology has been recognised as one of the Asia-Pacific’s finest institutions for world-class scientific research and one of the ‘big movers’ among Australian institutions. The recognition comes from distinguished international science and technology journal Nature.
Swinburne has risen 35 positions and is now ranked 65 from 100 last year in the Nature Publishing Index 2013 Asia-Pacific. The rank is measured by the number of primary research articles published in the last 12 months in weekly editions of Nature and its associated 17 publications.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Development at Swinburne, Professor George Collins, said this significant rise in ranking is due to increased awareness amongst researchers to publish in more high impact journals.
“We have been actively encouraging our researchers to publish in more highly regarded and cited journals such as Nature with outcomes and conclusions that are relevant not only to the scientific community but also to the wider public.
“This increased awareness has supported our researchers to become more prominent in their fields and enabled Swinburne to move up in ranking,” Professor Collins said.
The Nature Publishing Index placed Australia third next to China and Japan in the Asia-Pacific region, with its greatest strengths in earth and environmental sciences.
Australia improved its score by almost every measure, with the second highest level of international collaboration in the region. Its contribution to Nature journals grew by more than 50 per cent in 2013.
Swinburne is currently positioned 14th from 99 Australian institutions. Vice-Chancellor Professor Linda Kristjanson said this result positions Swinburne on the doorstep of the top ten ranked Australian institutions in the Nature Publishing Index.
“I wish to congratulate the Swinburne researchers who have been published within the last year byNature, Nature Communications, Nature Physics and Nature Photonics, and in that achievement, have contributed to Swinburne becoming one of the region’s growing contributors to ground-breaking scientific research,” said Professor Kristjanson.
“Our leap forward, coupled with the exciting projects and collaborations led by our researchers and their teams this year, is indicative of our momentum towards a future as the leading university in science, innovation and technology.”
More information on Nature Publishing Index 2013 Asia-Pacific can be found here.