Canterbury University excels in PBRF

Canterbury University excels in PBRF

The University of Canterbury has come a close second to the University of Auckland in terms of its PBRF research quality rankings, taking top position in four subject areas and first equal in two.

The positive showing reflects a high proportion of A and B gradings for academic staff who submitted research work for assessment by the Tertiary Education Commission.

Of the 22 institutions involved in the PBRF, Canterbury has the smallest proportion of the lowest R grading.

It has the highest quality scores in engineering and technology, earth sciences, agriculture and other applied biosciences, anthropology and archaeology.

The university shares the top scores in religious studies and theology, and architecture, design, planning and surveying.

Vice-Chancellor Roy Sharp says the results underline Canterbury’s reputation as a strong, research-led university. “In the face of competition for student numbers, Canterbury has continued to focus on its core disciplines and to nurture its research capabilities.

“This exercise will have a positive benefit for tertiary education in New Zealand, as it has previously in Britain – we will all be looking to improve our performance.”

Professor Sharp expects the PBRF results will assist with recruitment of staff and students.

“The university already attracts some of the best quality candidates worldwide to our fulltime academic staff.

One of those, the Director of the newly-created Centre for Bioengineering, Professor Tim David, who chose to further his career down-under after a period at Leeds University, says Canterbury is at least its equal.

“The breadth of research ability and practice being undertaken at Canterbury is quite astonishing. We have people of the calibre of Mike Steel from mathematics and Miles Fairburn from history – both eminently qualified in their field, both undertaking ground-breaking research. That is now being recognised not only in the PBRF but also with their elevation to membership of the Royal Society.”

© Scoop Media