Research excellence helps CDU crack the top 700 in Shanghai Academic Rankings

Charles Darwin University (CDU) has made significant progress in the Shanghai Academic Rankings of World Universities (ARWU), improving upon its ranking from last year.

In the latest 2023 rankings, CDU placed in the top 700 (601-700) universities in the world improving upon its 2022 ranking of 801-900.

The ARWU annually presents the ranking of the world’s top 1,000 research universities based on a range of data including the number of highly cited researchers selected by Clarivate and the number of articles published in journals of nature and science.  

CDU Vice-Chancellor Professor Scott Bowman said the improvement in ranking was a tremendous achievement for the University.

“Our international status is critical to our reputation as a world leading university, so it is fabulous to see CDU’s rankings improve on last year,” Professor Bowman said.

“We pride ourselves on our research excellence and I am pleased to say we have had some fantastic achievements in this area.”

Contributing to CDU’s rise in ranking has been an increase in CDU authors being published in the Nature and Science journals.

CDU had two authors, Senior Research Fellow Dr Peter Kyne and Lecturer in Stem Pathways, Dr Carla Eisemberg published in the prestigious Nature journal and four other papers included in the equally prestigious Science journal in the reference period.

CDU’s Professor in Information Technology and cyber security expert Professor Mamoun Alazab was listed as a highly cited researcher as selected by Clarivate, this also contributed significantly to CDU’s rise in rankings.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Innovation Professor Steve Rogers said the University will continue to strive for success to achieve research impact.

“This ranking is an indication of the quality of research we conduct at CDU, and we are incredibly proud of this achievement and being recognised in this highly respected ranking system,” Professor Rogers said.

“Out of 34 Australian Universities ranked, CDU is equal 27, which shows that despite being a small, regional university we punch well above our weight with our research.”

CDU’s top ranked subject was ecology which placed in the top 500 showcasing CDU’s world leading Research Institute for Environment and Livelihoods.

CDU’s researchers are working on a range of projects that will make an impact on not only the ecology of Northern Australia but also the rest of Australia and beyond.

CDU Freshwater Ecologist Professor Jenny Davis has led the first major survey of freshwater fish fauna at the Beetaloo Sub-basin and upper Roper River region of the Northern Territory to investigate biodiversity and determine the emerging shale gas industry’s potential impact on river flows and water quality.

A team from CDU’s Research Institute of the Environment and Livelihoods (RIEL) is looking at the tropical savannah landscape and the impacts of fire with a further team looking at native rice to develop commercially viable native rice as an agri-business.

Professor Rogers said this ranking showed the calibre of work being done at CDU.

 “We are incredibly lucky to have some of the best internationally recognised researchers call CDU home,” Professor Rogers said.

“This achievement is a fantastic team effort. From our academic staff to our support staff and beyond, we have a dedicated team that works hard to make a real difference.” 

This year, CDU also ranked in the Top 200 universities in the world as part of the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings which measure global social and economic impact based on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

CDU also made significant progress in the rankings of top universities established within the last 50 years securing the 60th position, a substantial improvement from its previous ranking of 104th.

For more information visit the Shanghai Academic Rankings of World Universities page.