The UK higher education funding bodies have published their proposals for the design and conduct of the Research Excellence Framework (REF), which will replace the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) as the method by which research will be assessed for the purpose of the allocation of their research funds. This paper is HEPI’s response to the proposals.

Font Size: Decrease Increase Print Page: Print Luke Slattery | October 08, 2009
Article from: The Australian
DESPITE a hammering in the Asian media over student safety, and fears for the higher education sector’s international reputation, Australia’s elite universities have consolidated their place in the global rankings.

Times Higher Education today published world rankings showing Australia’s Group of Eight research universities are all placed in the global top 100.

The ranking, a collaboration between THE and higher education consultants Quacquarelli Symonds, is used around the world by consumers – parents and students – as well as academics looking for work and employers seeking recruits. ……

WORLD UNIVERSITY RANKINGS 2009

UM is number 36

UM is number 13 of the top 50 in Life Sciences and biomedicine

UM is 23rd of the top 50 in Natural sciences

Background
Institutions have spent the majority of the year putting into place business approaches and suitable systems to prepare their Excellence in Research for Australia trial submissions. The trial is now complete, and the full ERA experience is about to begin for 2010. It is now an ideal time for people involved in the ‘practical issues’ of ERA submissions to meet and discuss their differing approaches to the trial, the difficulties they faced, the solutions put in place and the upcoming challenges for 2010.

This Forum will provide an opportunity for people involved in managing research data and repositories for the ERA to compare and contrast their approaches and discuss issues of interest and as a collective to provide understanding/ clarity in areas of concern.

The ARC will be attending this forum and will present on the practical issues they have had to deal throughout the trial and outline the issues they see as future challenges.

This event is supported by Higher Ed Services and the Collaborative Research Administrators Group (CRAG).

Forum Details
Held: Thursday 26th November 2009
Time: 9:30am – 4:30pm
Location: Sydney. Stamford Plaza Sydney Airport Hotel.
Room: Mascot Ballroom

Registration / Preliminary Program

What the forum is about
The ERA Wash Up and Lesson’s Learnt forum will include:

Case Studies from the Research Office perspective and also the Library perspective on issues faced, solutions put in place, data management and future challenges.
ARC presentation on ERA – the Past and Future
Great opportunity for discussion on ERA issues
What this event is not – This event is not to discuss specific content of institutional returns. It is designed to share and discuss the common elements and approaches that universities undertook and should consider while preparing future submissions.

Who Should Attend?
Research Office data and system managers
Repository Managers involved in managing outputs for ERA
ERA Co-ordinators
People with responsibility and coordination involvement in preparing ERA submissions
What Will I get out of it?
the opportunity to learn from colleagues regarding differing approaches to the ERA
the chance for people to validate their approach and compare notes
open discussion on issues related to the ERA
hearing advice from the ARC on issues dealt with throughout the trial, but also looking forward to issues for future ERA submissions
networking opportunities
Accommodation
Accommodation is available at the Stamford Plaza Sydney Airport Hotel if required. Please call reservations on (02) 9317 1628 if you wish to make a booking.

Australian Research Council (ARC) Chief Executive Officer, Professor Margaret Sheil, today announced the timeframe for the full Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative evaluation process.

“Submissions to the full ERA will begin in June 2010,” Professor Sheil said.

“This timeframe will give Australian universities sufficient time to prepare their submissions to the full ERA evaluations, which will evaluate all eight ERA discipline clusters.

“To assist universities with their submissions, the ERA Submission Guidelines for the full ERA will be released in December this year.

“I trust universities will be pleased with this timeframe,” Professor Sheil said.

Preparing institutions for ERA, the ARC is currently undertaking a trial of Cluster One (Physical, Chemical and Earth Sciences) and Cluster Two (Humanities and Creative Arts). The results of the trial will inform the full ERA process.

The ARC is developing ERA to be a world-class research quality and evaluation system that has the confidence of the research and higher education sector.

presentation by Andrew Calder, Direcotr, Research Performance and Analysis, Australian Research Council, to Elsevier Research Trends and Innovation Meeting 2009