‘Connected intelligence’ was the overarching theme as Professor Sakkie Pretorius, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), gathered University staff together for his annual research ‘weather report’ on 26 November.

Reporting against the goals of Macquarie’s strategic research framework World-Leading Research; World-Changing Impact 2015-2024, Professor Pretorius thanked all the staff – both academic and professional – that had worked together across the University to generate research of an increasingly impressive quality.

He spoke of some of the challenging factors affecting Macquarie’s research outcomes, including recent changes to research funding reporting requirements, and a shift in the factors influencing federal research grant success.

Despite these external challenges, there were many research success stories that Professor Pretorius was particularly proud to highlight.

He applauded Macquarie’s outstanding results in the 2018 Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) national assessment, pointing to the continuing success of the University’s strategic commitment to accelerating research performance:

• 100 per cent of the University’s research was rated at world standard and above at the 2-digit level
• There was a 50 per cent increase in research rated at 5 at the 4-digit level
• Both Physical Sciences and Environmental Sciences have maintained consistently excellent performance, achieving the highest possible rating in all ERA assessments since the initiative began in 2010.

The news was also good for Macquarie in the Australian Research Council’s 2018 Engagement and Impact Assessment, with:

• more than 90 per cent of Macquarie’s submitted work deemed to have made a significant contribution beyond academia;
• 100 per cent of Macquarie’s research characterised by effective or highly effective interactions between researchers and research end-users outside of academia.

Despite falling short of the strategy’s research publication target, Professor Pretorius noted that our research publications were expected to reach the 2000 mark for the first time this year, and the notable shift to quality over quantity was a clear factor in our success in ERA – something he valued well above the total number of papers published.

Acknowledging staff uncertainty and the continuing external challenges affecting the University, Professor Pretorius left staff with a personal commitment to support staff across all research disciplines.

“Collaboration, caring and kindness are traits unique to our campus,” he said. “As a university, we will support you wherever you find yourselves in our academic home. So, go out and hunt [for that research funding], but don’t lose the kindness.”

You can view the full Weather Report presentation below.

The Australian Research Council’s 2018 Engagement and Impact Assessment Report was also released last week, demonstrating Macquarie University’s strong commitment to industry, community and government engagement.

HIGHLIGHTS OF MACQUARIE’S 2018 ERA RESULTS:

• 100 per cent of research rated at world standard and above at the 2-digit level
• 50 per cent increase in research rated at 5 at the 4-digit level
• Macquarie has maintained consistently excellent performance in Physical Sciences and Environmental Sciences, achieving the highest ERA ratings for these areas in 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2018

HIGHLIGHTS OF MACQUARIE’S 2018 ENGAGEMENT AND IMPACT RESULTS:

• 91 per cent of Macquarie’s impact case studies have made a significant contribution beyond academia
• 100 per cent of Macquarie’s research is characterised by effective or highly effective interactions between researchers and research end-users outside of academia

For detailed results, visit the website.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Sakkie Pretorius said the ERA ratings are a vital indicator of Australia’s research performance and also shows that taking a collaborative and cross-faculty approach sets the standard for university research in Australia.

“The latest ERA ratings show that Macquarie’s research excellence is going from strength to strength and is world-leading. Macquarie’s strategic investment in, and focus on, quality and innovation has strengthened established research areas and launched emerging research areas that enable us to undertake this world-leading research with world-changing impact for the betterment of humankind, our societies, economies, and the environment.”

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor S Bruce Dowton congratulated Macquarie researchers and research support staff: “This success is one acknowledgement for the fierce determination to produce the very best research. Macquarie’s purposeful commitment to increasing the scale and depth of excellence in the research we conduct is demonstrated in our impressive results. The impact of this work changes the way people live their lives and the kind of world we leave to future generations.”

Some of Macquarie’s most highly regarded academics have been selected as members of the Research Evaluation Committees (REC) for the Australian Government’s Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) 2018.

ERA is a comprehensive evaluation that examines the output of Australian universities’ research efforts and identifies areas of research excellence. The Macquarie representatives are among 140 distinguished researchers (from 500 nominated) appointed to REC panels.

In the last ERA evaluation in 2015, 100 per cent of Macquarie’s two-digit fields of research (FoRs) were rated as performing at world standard or higher. Three of our two-digit FoRs were rated at the maximum 5 (indicating research well-above world standard) in the key disciplines of physical sciences, environmental sciences, and agricultural and veterinary sciences.

The Macquarie REC members (and their respective panels) for 2018 are:

• Professor Amanda Barnier (Medical and Health Sciences)
• Professor Stephen Crain (Humanities and Creative Arts)
• Professor Annabelle McIver (Mathematical, Information and Computing Sciences)
• Professor Martina Möllering (Humanities and Creative Arts)
• Professor Jason Twamley (Physical, Chemical and Earth Sciences)

This is Professor Möllering’s fourth consecutive appointment to an ERA REC – demonstrating her enduring expertise and reputation in language studies, linguistics and the humanities.

Australian Research Council (ARC) Chief Executive Officer, Professor Sue Thomas, said the REC members represent the pinnacle of expertise in their fields, and highlighted a notable improvement in the gender balance of this year’s panels.

“These committee members represent a wonderful depth and breadth of expertise and backgrounds, including a great deal of experience from previous ERA rounds,” said Thomas.

“I am pleased that, with female members making up 38 per cent of ERA 2018 REC members, we have a significantly higher level of representation of women than we had in the previous ERA round. I am grateful to the universities across the sector for putting forward many excellent female candidates and I hope to see the trend continue.”

Links to biographies and publications for each of the REC members are available via the ARC’s media release.

Find out more about Macquarie’s participation in ERA 2018.