Melbourne’s research excellence

The Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) is a major initiative of the Australian Research Council – funded by the Australian Government – to capture research excellence across the disciplines.

Australian universities are evaluated by the ERA on the quality of their research being undertaken, and uses national and international benchmarks, with the submissions evaluated by 150 Research Evaluation Committee members and 1000 peer reviewers from Australia and abroad.

Ratings are based on a variety of indicators relevant to different disciplinary areas, including citation profiles and peer reviews, and the information is submitted by universities and covers all eligible researchers and their research outputs.

Delivering above world standard results

In 2018, at a national scale there were:

  • 506,294 publications or other research outputs
  • Over 76,000 researchers and related staff
  • A$10.9 billion of external research income
  • 1282 patents
  • 109 discipline areas rated as 'well above world standard'
  • a large number of disciplines that rated 'above world standard' at multiple institutions in areas such as;
    • biomedical engineering
    • neurosciences
    • condensed matter physics
    • human movement and sports science
    • nanotechnology
    • immunology
    • architecture
    • economics
    • psychology
    • astronomical and space sciences.

Victoria's Research Excellence ERA Case Studies

The Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) case studies provides an overview of Victoria's research strengths by discipline and university, and profiles case studies of 'above world standard' by Victorian universities.

International Research Partnerships Program

The $3.6 million International Research Partnerships Program is an initiative under the International Education Short Term Recovery Plan 2020-21 to support strategic international research partnerships, grow market access and strengthen Victoria’s global reputation for education, EdTech and research.

The Program provides support to the sector through two streams.

Through stream one, the $2.8 million Study Melbourne Research Partnerships support major research projects between Victorian public institutions and their international industry or institutional partner/s.

Delivered by leading research management organisation VESKI, the partnerships drive international research collaboration, establish or deepen strategic offshore partnerships for Victorian institutions, and strengthen the prestigious global rankings and reputation of Victoria’s public universities and TAFEs.