CMS Research Rated 'World-Leading' by Peers in RAE 2008
The results of the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE2008) confirm that research undertaken by the School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences (CMS) of the University of Greenwich is amongst the best in the world.
RAE2008 rated 70% of the work submitted by CMS research group Centre for Numerical Modelling and Process Analysis (CNMPA) in the highest two research quality categories within the area of Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering (UoA 28). The group had 30% of its work rated as 'world-leading' and 40% rated as 'internationally excellent'.
In the most respected RAE 2008 league table compiled by the Times Higher Education (18th December 2008), the groups submission produced a grade point average of 2.95, placing the CMS research group 4th out of the 33 submissions from 32 institutions. Its 4th place meant that the research group was placed higher than 12 of the research intensive Russell Group Universities. With 30% of its submission rated at the highest quality rating of 'world-leading', the quality of the CNMPA work was equal to that of Imperial and Sheffield, the top two rated universities. The average volume of work classified as 'world-leading' for the area of Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering by the assessment panel was only 17%.
Prof Ed Galea, Co-Director of the CNMPA said "I am delighted that 70% of our research has been acknowledged by the toughest independent analysis in the UK to be world class. It is a tribute to our team of talented and hard working researchers that we have been judged to be outstanding by our peers. These results show that world-leading research is not restricted to the Russell Group."
Head of School Dr Liz Bacon said "We are extremely proud of the work of all of our researchers. In addition to the outstanding work of CNMPA, CMS has made substantial achievements in the two other extremely competitive subjects, Computer Science and Statistics. These research efforts make a substantial contribution to making our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes amongst the best in the UK."
CMS SCORE PROFILES:
CMS submitted three research groupings into three different RAE Units of Assessment (UoA).
Within UoA 28 Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering the work of CNMPA was judged as follows:
Category 4* - World-Leading - 30%
Category 3* - Internationally Excellent - 40%
Category 2* - Recognised Internationally - 25%
Category 1* - Recognised Nationally - 5%
Unclassified - Quality that falls short of National Recognised - 0%
The quality of the CNMPA work was ranked ahead of 12 Russell Group institutions including: Nottingham, Bristol, Leeds, Birmingham, Cardiff, Newcastle, Queen's, Liverpool, Southampton, UCL, Glasgow and Kings.
Within UoA 23 Computer Science and Informatics the work of CMS was judged as follows:
Category 4* - World-Leading - 0%
Category 3* - Internationally Excellent - 20%
Category 2* - Recognised Internationally - 50%
Category 1* - Recognised Nationally - 30%
Unclassified - Quality that falls short of National Recognised - 0%
The CMS group achieved a grade point average of 1.9 with 70% of its research being either recognised internationally or being considered internationally excellent.
Within UoA 22 Statistics and Operational Research the work of CMS was judged as follows:
Category 4* - World-Leading - 0%
Category 3* - Internationally Excellent - 40%
Category 2* - Recognised Internationally - 40%
Category 1* - Recognised Nationally - 20%
Unclassified - Quality that falls short of National Recognised - 0%
The CMS group achieved a grade point average of 2.2 with 80% of its research being either recognised internationally or being considered internationally excellent.
RAE 2008:
The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) is a peer review conducted on a regular basis to evaluate the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. The RAE is conducted jointly by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) and the Department for Employment and Learning, Northern Ireland (DEL). Research quality in UK Higher Education Institutions is assessed every few years as the basis on which to allocate an annual budget of £1.5 billion of UK government research funding and to provide information on the quality of research in HEIs. The last RAE was conducted in 2001. The results of the 2008 RAE were published on the 18 December 2008 by the UK Higher Education Funding Councils. A full listing of the results can be found at www.rae.ac.uk.