University of Queensland ranked among best 50 in the world

A QUEENSLAND university is among five Australian universities ranked among the top 50 worldwide.

THE University of Queensland is among five Australian universities ranked among the top 50 worldwide.

Australia boasts more “top 50” universities than any other country except the US and UK.

UQ is ranked 48th in the 2019 edition of the Top Universities guide, released today by global education analyst QS Quacquarelli Symonds.

The global report card measures universities’ academic reputation, employer reputation, the proportion of international students and “meaningful interaction’’ with students.

Nearly three-quarters of Australian universities have improved their international research impact, the analysis shows.

Foreign students make up more than 30 per cent of enrolments in Australian universities – one of the highest rates in the world, rivalling the UK, Switzerland and Hong Kong.

UQ Vice Chancellor Peter Hoj. Picture: AAP/ Megan Slade

The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is 244th out of the 1000 universities ranked globally – up from 247th place this year.

Griffith University is ranked 329th – down from 325th this year – while James Cook University has slipped from 367th place to 369th.

Bond University is ranked at 443, down slightly from this year’s range of 431-440.

Three Queensland unis have retained their rankings next year – Central Queensland University at 601-650, the University of Southern Queensland at 751-800, and the University of the Sunshine Coast at 801-1000.

The top Australian universities are Australian National University (24), University of Melbourne (39), University of Sydney (42) and University of NSW (45).

The world’s top universities are the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford and Harvard universities, the California Institute of Technology, and the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

Nicole Robinson is a psychology PhD student at QUT who is working with robots. Picture: Annette Dew

Universities Australia spokeswoman Catriona Jackson said Australian universities were among the world’s best, but warned that the Federal Government’s higher education funding freeze would put future results at risk.

“Our Asian neighbours are investing heavily in higher education, with universities in China and Hong Kong becoming stronger competitors,’’ she said.

“That’s why we need to see the Government end the current university funding freeze and reverse cuts that will strip $2.2 billion from our universities over the next few years.”

A small flock of sheep is helping University of Queensland scientists to cut the cost of operating Australia's largest solar research facility.

UQ MAKES SWITCH TO SOLAR

THE University of Queensland has commissioned a $125 million solar farm to be built near Warwick in a bid to offset its annual electricity needs.

It will become the world’s first major university to make the switch to fully renewable.

UQ vice-chancellor Professor Peter Høj said the university would become energy neutral when the 64 megawatt solar farm comes on line.

“We are already the largest solar generator among Australian universities, and this initiative will complement the 50,000 existing solar panels on our campuses,” he said.

The solar farm will generate about 154,000 megawatt hours of clean energy each year – enough to power 27,000 average homes – more than offsetting UQ’s current and projected future annual electricity usage. Construction is planned to start this year.