On the job

The government’s National Science and Technology Council has met and is reported to have agreed, “the focus must be on securing a future in which meaningful jobs are available for all.” The council will meet again in August, presumably when they will announce how to do it.

Flinders U’s own US ally

The university has a new research centre to address the “weaponisation of social media”. It’s named for Jeff Bleich the Obama administration 2009-2013 ambassador to Australia

The Jeff Bleich Centre for the US Alliance in Digital Technology, Security, and Governance, launched last night, will, “adopt a multidisciplinary approach to social science by bringing together the three key areas of technology, security, governance.”

It will work with government, industry and NGOs on “current and emerging issues in cyber security.”

“Flinders is the ideal home for the centre with its long-term track record in American studies, its focus on disruptive technologies, and its successful bi-national programs,” Ambassador Bleich says.

Described as a “long-time friend” of Flinders U, Ambassador Bleich is also appointed a professorial fellow.

He addressed the broad research challenge for the centre in a well-received speech to Universities Australia in 2017;

“We need to restructure information systems so that facts matter, false statements are exposed, and making false claims has real consequences. The irony of the information age is that increasingly we seem to know more, but understand less. But this can be fixed. Imagine a world where every article is immediately fact-checked by libraries, and reviewed for accuracy and relevance by a trusted board of editors drawing on high speed computers. Where every article has the equivalent of a yelp-rating, or is crowd-corrected wikipedia style. Where every false and digitally altered image can be exposed through blockchain technology. Universities can do this. After a while, just as we know which restaurants to avoid, we would know which writers and journals and articles and politicians we can’t trust.”

Foundation funding for the centre comes from Flinders U and an anonymous donation described as “not insubstantial, given the scale of the initiative.”

Cracking the skills code at Uni Adelaide

Uni Adelaide  offers a “coding boot camp” for adult learners, in partnership with “workforce accelerator” Trilogy Education

It looks to be the same programme Trilogy is presenting with UWA (CMM May 17).

As at UWA, the programme is not accredited but at $11 000 for a six-month of study, with ten-12 class hours a week and another 20 on assignments and prep it looks like a bunch of learning for the money. The cyber-drill sergeants at the boot camp will be industry professionals vetted by Uni Adelaide computer science academics.

Todays Headline Story

UNSW shares global top spot on new discipline based ranking

The university is equal first on the ARWU list of 500 top universities, appearing  in 52 research disciplines  

Australian universities are among the world top 100 for all 54 disciplines in the Academic Ranking of World Universities, released yesterday.

ARWU ranks universities from one to 100 and then in bands, to 500.

UNSW leads the locals, in the top 100 for 38 disciplines.

ARWU states UNSW also appears on 52 of the 54  discipline lists of top 500 universities in the world. This puts it in equal first place with McGill U, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and the University of British Columbia.

The University of Queensland is in the top 100 universities for 33 disciplines, one down from last year.

Top 100 places  by discipline for other Group of Eight institutions are, Uni Melbourne 33, Monash U 32, Uni Sydney, 28, ANU 19, UWA 16 and Uni Adelaide 13.

The University of Wollongong has ten top 100 ratings, QUT, UTS and Griffith nine each, and Curtin U seven.

The ranking is based on the ARWU all of university methodology, including papers published 2013-2017, journal impact, citation impact and international collaboration among authors.

Below Australian universities in the top 100 for all discipline (last year’s score in brackets.)  (With apologies for errors and omissions.)

Nothing cryptic about currency at RMIT

Paris based Kaiko, which reports data on crypto-currencies, rates RMIT third in the world for researching digital assets

RMIT “is known for cutting edge innovation when it comes to combining economic and technological research,” in this case “on cryptoeconomics and the quickly expanding blockchain economy,” the consultancy claims.

The complete Kaiko list is Cambridge U, MIT, RMIT, Princeton U, University College London, Stanford U, Cornell U, Uni Toulouse, Imperial College London and National Uni Singapore.

There’s more going at RMIT than investigating blockchain economics.

Chris Berg, Sinclair Davidson, Jason Potts and colleagues argue the blockchain can transform society, by providing an alternative to the state’s authority as record-keeper (CMM October 30 2017) and identity verifier (CMM November 9 2017 ).

Berg, Davidson and Potts, Understanding the Blockchain Economy, will be published by Edward Elgar in August. A snip at US$125, sorry no idea what that is in bitcoin.

Appointments, achievements

UWA has appointed Tayyeb Shah as DVC Global Partnerships. Mr Shah joins from Kings College London, where he was deputy vice president for global business development.

Workforce ageing researcher Philip Taylor (Federation U) is named a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America.

The Alcohol and Drug Foundation 2019 research award goes to the Alcohol, Other Drugs and Gambling Team at the Menzies School of Health Research, in Darwin.

La Trobe University is nominated for the HR team of the year in the Human Resources Director magazine’s awards.

Australian universities in the ARWU’s world top 100: natural sciences

Natural Sciences

Maths: UNSW 76-100 (last year 76-100)

Physics: ANU 31 (32)

Chemistry: Monash U 76-100 (76-100)

Earth sciences: ANU 25 (23). UNSW 40 (40). Curtin U 49 (51-75). Monash U, 51-75 (-). UWA 51-75 (51-75). U Tas 51-75 (51-75). Macquarie U 76-100 (76-100). Uni Adelaide 76-100 (76-100)

Geography: Uni Queensland 30 (13). Uni Melbourne 38 (22). Macquarie U 51-75 (76-100). ANU 51-75 (7). Uni Sydney 51-75 (51-75). Uni Wollongong 51-75 (-). Monash U 76-100 (51-75). UNSW 76-100 (-). UWA 76-100 (76-100).

Ecology: James Cook U 9 (12). Uni Queensland 16 (16). UWA 24 (29). ANU 33 (36). Western Sydney U 41 (39). Uni Melbourne 45 (47). Macquarie U 51-75 (51-75). UNSW 51-75 (51-75). Uni Sydney 51-75 (51-75). Uni Tasmania 51-75 (51-75).

Oceanography: Uni Tas 10 (13). UNSW 23 (23). UWA 28 (24). ANU 46 (43). Griffith U 76-100 (-). James Cook U 76-100 (51-75). Uni Queensland 76-100 (51-75).

Atmospheric science: UNSW 37 (22). Uni-Melbourne 41-75 (49). Uni Wollongong 51-75 (-). Uni Queensland 76-100 (-). UWA 76-100 (-).

Australian universities in the ARWU’s world top 100: Engineering

 Engineering

Mechanical engineering:  UNSW 45 (45). Monash U 51-75 (51-75). Uni Sydney 51-75 (76-100). Uni Adelaide 76-100 (-).

Electrical and electronic engineering: USW 38 (46). Uni Adelaide 43 (36). RMIT 76-100 (76-100).

Automation and control: Uni Newcastle (8). ANU 18 (13). Uni Adelaide 24 (25). Victoria U 33 (-). RMIT 48 (51-75). Uni Melbourne 51-75 (43). UNSW 51-75 (51-75). UTS 76-00 (-).

Telecommunications engineering: UNSW 29 (30). UTS 34 (76-100). Uni Sydney 37 (46). ANU 40 (30). Macquarie U 76-100 (-).

Instruments science and technology:  Uni Adelaide 51-75 (51-75). UNSW 51-75 (42).

Biomedical engineering: UTS 51-75 (-) Uni Melbourne 76-100 (-)

Computer science and engineering: UTS 29 (47). Uni Adelaide 43 (43). ANU 46 (46). Uni Melbourne 51-75 (76-100). UNSW 76-100 (-). Uni Sydney 76-100 (-).

Civil engineering: UNSW 9 (10). Uni Adelaide 17 (31). Uni Sydney 24 (38) Monash U 50 (51-75). Western Sydney U 51-75 (51-75). Uni Wollongong 51-75 (51-75). QUT 76-100 (76-100). RMIT (-). Swinburne U 76-100 (-). Uni Melbourne 76-100 (-). Uni Queensland (-).

Chemical engineering: Monash U 39 (34). Curtin U 51-75 (49). UNSW 51-75 (51-75). Uni Queensland 76-100 (51-75).

Materials science and engineering:  Monash 51-75 (51-75). Uni Wollongong 76-100 (-)

Nanoscience and nanotechnology: Monash U 51-75 (51-75). Uni Wollongong 51-75 (76-100). ANU 76-100 (76-100). Uni Queensland 76-100 (76-100).

Energy science and engineering: Monash U 29 (30). Uni Wollongong 39 (44). UNSW 40 (39). Griffith U 76-100 (). Uni Adelaide 76-100 (76-100). Uni Queensland 76-100 (51-75).

Environmental science and engineering: UWA 19 (18). Uni Queensland 21 (21). UNSW 43 (44). Uni Melbourne 76-100 (76-100).

Water resources: UNSW 7 (5). Flinders U 14 (12). Uni Queensland 20 (). Uni Adelaide 34 (28). Monash U 36 (45).  Uni Melbourne 39 (36). ANU 44 (51-75). UWA 51-75 (51-75). Griffith U 76-100 (76-100).

Food science and technology: Uni Queensland 23 (32).

Biotechnology: Uni Queensland 9 (7). Uni Melbourne 42 (44). Monash U 76-100 (76-100).  UTS 76-100 (-).

Aerospace engineering: UNSW 34 (41).

Marine/ocean engineering: UWA 7 (12). Griffith U 13 (). Uni Tasmania 28 (35). UNSW 43 (16).

Transportation science and technology: Uni Sydney 5 (6). Monash U 35 (13). QUT 41 (16). UNSW 48 (34). ANU 51-75 (51-75). Uni Wollongong 76-100 (76-100).

Remote sensing: UNSW 13 (16). Monash U 27 (39). UTS 50 (). Uni Melbourne 51-75 (51-75). Curtin U 76-100 (76-100). Uni Queensland 76-100 (76-100). U Tasmania 76-100 (76-100).

Mining and mineral engineering:  Uni Queensland 3 (1). UWA 5 (5). UNSW 8 (7). Monash U 10 (10). Curtin U 11 (14). Uni Adelaide 13 (15). U Tasmania 16 (). James Cook U 26 (). Uni SA 30 (22). Uni Newcastle 37 (26). RMIT 43 (-). Uni Wollongong 76-100 (51-75)

Metallurgical engineering:  Monash U 9 (7). Uni Queensland 19 (19). Deakin U 34 (34). Uni Sydney 46 (39). UNSW 49 (50). Uni Wollongong 51-75 (51-75).

Australian universities in the ARWU’s world top 100: Life and medical sciences

Life and medical sciences

Biological sciences:  UWA 35 (46). Uni Melbourne 50 (51-75). Uni Queensland 51-75 (51-75) Uni Sydney 51-75 (76-100). Monash U 76-100 (-).

Human biological sciences: Uni Melbourne 27 (19). UWA 31 (-). Monash U 51-75 (51-75). Uni Queensland 51-75 (51-75). Uni Sydney 51-75 (49). UNSW 76-100 (51-75).

Agricultural sciences: UWA 18 (14). Uni Queensland 24 (24). Uni Sydney 39 (38). Uni Adelaide 40 (42). Uni Melbourne 43 (40).  Uni Tas 44 (39). ANU 51-75 (). Western Sydney U 51-75 (51-75).

Veterinary science: Uni Sydney 18 (21). Uni Melbourne 27 (32). Uni Queensland 37 (34). Murdoch U 76-100 (76-100). UNE 76-100 (-).

Clinical medicine: UWA 8 (39). Uni Sydney 16 (32). Uni Melbourne 25 (19). Monash U 51-75 (51-75). UNSW 51-75 (76-100). Uni Queensland 51-75 (76-100). Uni Adelaide 76-100 (-).

Public health: Uni Melbourne 23 (25). Uni Queensland 23 (18). Uni Sydney 35 (37). Monash U 48 (51-75). UNSW 51-75 (76-100). UWA 51-75 (48). QUT 76-100 (76-100). ANU 76-100 (-).

Dentistry and oral sciences: Uni Adelaide 29 (27). Uni Melbourne 76-100 (76-100). Uni Sydney 76-100 (51-75).

Nursing: Griffith U 4 (11). UTS 8 (6). Uni Queensland 9 (12). QUT 23 (31).  Uni Sydney 23 (25). Monash U 27 (32). Australian Catholic U 32 (41). Deakin U 44 (51-75).  Curtin U 51-75 (47). Uni Melbourne 51-75 (51-75). Uni Newcastle 51-75 (76-100).  Flinders U 76-100 (-). UNSW 76-100 (-). UWA 76-100 (76-100). Western Sydney U 76-100 (49).

Medical technology: Uni Sydney 51-75 (51-75). Uni Melbourne 76-100 (51-75). Uni Queensland 76-100 (76-100).

Pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences: Monash U 7(9).  Uni Queensland 27 (51-75). Uni Sydney 39 (51-75). Uni Melbourne 40 (-).

Australian universities in the ARWU’s world top 100: Social sciences

Social sciences

Economics: Uni Melbourne 41 (41). Monash U 42 (42). ANU 51-75 (48). UNSW 51-75 (51-75). Uni Sydney 51-75 (51-75).

Statistics:  Uni Melbourne 33 (29). ANU 51-75 (51-75). UNSW 51-75 (76-100). Monash U 76-100 (76-100).

Law: Griffith U 29 (33). UNSW 33 (34). Monash U 43 (36). ANU 47 (51-75). Uni Melbourne 51-75 (51-75). Uni Queensland 51-75 (). Deakin U 76-100 (76-100). QUT 76-100 (-).

Political science: ANU 30 (18).  Uni Sydney 49 (34). Griffith U 76-100 (76-100).

Sociology: Un Melbourne 39 (39). Uni Queensland 50 (47). Uni Sydney 51-75 (51-75). Monash U 76-100 (76-100).

Education: Monash U 12 (16). Uni Sydney 28 (29). Uni Melbourne 30 (51-75). QUT 41 (76-100). Uni Queensland 48 (51-75). Australian Catholic U 51-75 (51-75). Deakin U 51-75 (51-75). UNSW 51-75 (-). Curtin U 76-100 (76-100). Griffith U 76-100 (76-100). Macquarie U 76-100 (-). Uni Newcastle 76-100 (76-100). Western Sydney U 76-100 (51-75).

Communication:  Uni Queensland 38 (36). Uni Melbourne 51-75 (51-75). Uni Sydney 51-75 (50). Monash U 76-100 (-).  QUT 76-100 (76-100). RMIT 76-100 (). UNSW 76-100 (76-100).

Psychology: UNSW 37 (44) Uni Queensland 40 (34). Uni Melbourne 48 (51-7551-75). Uni Sydney 51-75 (). Macquarie U 76-100 (-). UWA 76-100 (-).

Business administration: Monash U 17 (22). Uni Melbourne 34 (26). UNSW 51-75 (51-75). Uni Sydney 51-75 (51-75). Uni SA 76-100 (76-100).

Finance:  UNSW 18 (16). Uni Melbourne 31 (27). Monash 40 (44). Uni Sydney 51-75 (51-75). UTS 51-75 (51-75). Deakin U 76-100 (76-100). Uni Queensland 76-100 (76-100).

Management: Uni Melbourne 51-75 (51-75). UNSW 51-75 (50). Uni Queensland 51-75 (76-100). Uni Sydney 51-75 (76-100). Monash U 76-100 (76-100)

Public administration: ANU 16 (14). Uni Melbourne 34 (23). Uni Queensland 36 (76-100). UNSW 46 (51-75). Monash U 51-75 (-). Uni Canberra 51-75 (76-100).

Hospitality and tourism:  Griffith U 2 (2). Uni Queensland 4 (3). Uni SA 21 (25). Monash U 27 (21). James Cook U 31 (31). UNSW 32 (34). Southern Cross U 28 (34). Victoria U 37 (46). UTS 43 (43). La Trobe U 45 (51-75). Curtin U 46 (44). Deakin 48 (51-75). QUT 76-100 (76-100). Uni Wollongong 76-100 (51-75).

Library and information science: UNSW 23 (26). QUT 51-75 (). Uni Melbourne 51-75 (51-75). Uni Sydney 51-75 (51-75). ANU 76-100 (76-100).