Claudia Doman
24 November 2015: The University of Canberra has today entered further world rankings, this time as one of the top 100 "young" universities in the world. The prestigious Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) rankings agency has placed the University in the 91-100 band of universities under the age of 50.
This means the University has achieved one of its strategic plan goals two years ahead of time.
QS previously limited the list to 50 universities but the worldwide increase in high quality universities has led to it extending the ranking by adding the "Next 50 Under 50" list.
This achievement follows the University's recent ranking by the 2015-2016 Times Higher Education and its recent climb of more than 100 places in the 2015-16 QS World University Rankings announced earlier this year.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Stephen Parker said he was thrilled to see that the hard work and strong commitment by the University's teaching and research staff in the past few years have been acknowledged.
"This is fantastic news and the result confirms the University's continuing ascent as one of the best young universities in the world, consolidating its position in the top four per cent of tertiary institutions worldwide," Professor Parker said.
The QS Top 50 Under 50 rankings are compiled by taking the top 50 universities from the QS World University Rankings that have been founded or established in the last 50 years. The ranking is designed to highlight the accomplishment of universities whose performances in teaching and research are increasingly impressive given their age and resources.
QS has said that the extended list will extend the spotlight to even more of the higher education world's 'bright young things' – young universities making their mark on the international stage with striking speed, challenging the long-established institutions which have previously tended to dominate the rankings tables.
The University of Canberra has been operating as a university for only 25 years, after the Dawkins higher education reforms led to its establishment as the successor to the Canberra College of Advanced Education.
Professor Parker said that the recent recruitment of some of the world's top researchers, winning more competitive grants and an improved research performance across the board have largely contributed to the University's growing reputation as an up-and-coming research institution.
"We are a very young university, which has never been specially funded for research, but we are now being considered alongside universities which have much longer track records. Our education and research performance has been rising sharply over the last few years and we are determined to continue this steadfast ascent in the years to come," Professor Parker said.
