UNSW ranked fifth in world for water resources

UNSW has moved up the ranks over the past twelve months and is now the fifth best university in the world for water resources.

In its 2018 subject rankings, released on 17 July, the influential ShanghaiRankings Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) placed UNSW 5th in the world for water resources, and 1st in the Asia-Pacific region. In addition, UNSW is ranked 16th in the world for marine and ocean engineering.

These new rankings affirm UNSW’s position as a true world-leader in water.

GRAS ranks universities based on four key criteria: the number of relevant journal papers published, the quality and impacts of the journal papers published, the academic accolades awarded to staff and the level of international collaboration.

Professor Lucy Marshall, Deputy Director of the Water Research Centre and leader of the hydrologic modeling and uncertainty analysis team, said “this is an excellent outcome, and indicative of the depth and breadth of water research excellence at WRC and UNSW.

“Our researchers are clearly demonstrating the global impact of their work.”

Professor Ian Turner, Director of the Water Research Laboratory at Manly Vale and leader of the Marine and Ocean Engineering program, said, “we are delighted that WRL’s team of academic and professional engineers can contribute so strongly to the University’s profile as a global leader in this field.”

The UNSW Global Water Institute (UNSW-GWI) was was founded in 2016 to draw together the incredible expertise of 13 UNSW research centres across seven core capabilities and enable a multi-disciplinary approach to many complex water challenges and opportunities.

This expertise is being applied both in Australia and in many countries and regions overseas to advance the sustainable management of water resources—positioning UNSW-GWI as a partner of choice internationally.

Professor Mark Hoffman, Dean of the UNSW Faculty of Engineering and Chair of the Steering Committee for UNSW-GWI, said, “I am thrilled to see UNSW rising through the ranks for its water expertise.

It is wonderful to see this result and demonstration of the collective strength of UNSW’s water community to participate in complex, high-impact projects in Australia and internationally

Prof Emma Johnston, Dean of Science, UNSW

“We were ranked 6th for water resources and 18th for marine and ocean engineering in 2017, and these new, even higher rankings recognise that our water capability is simply growing from strength to strength.”

Professor Emma Johnston, UNSW Dean of Science and UNSW-GWI Steering Committee member, said, “it is wonderful to see this result and demonstration of the collective strength of UNSW’s water community to participate in complex, high-impact projects in Australia and internationally.”

UNSW’s holistic, interdisciplinary approach continues to attract considerable interest from exceptional students at both undergraduate and post-graduate levels.

In UNSW’s May graduation, 27 students graduated with PhDs in water related fields, and one PhD student was recently awarded a prestigious international prize for the best water engineering PhD globally.