Manchester smashes the "Golden Triangle" for research
Press release: 18 December 2008The University of Manchester has smashed the “Golden Triangle” of research universities traditionally dominated by Oxford, Cambridge and London, according to the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, published today.
And the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences played a major role in the University’s overall success with three of its schools topping the UK league tables in their respective research fields.
Based on any analysis of the results, Manchester emerges amongst the country’s top four or five major research universities and is proving competitive with University College London and Imperial College and just behind Oxford and Cambridge.
Sixty-five per cent of research staff (amounting to 1,193 full-time equivalent staff) at The University of Manchester are judged to be carrying out work which is “world-leading” (4*) or “internationally excellent” (3*).
Professor Alan Gilbert, President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of Manchester, said: “These results vindicate the decision to merge UMIST and the Victoria University of Manchester in 2004 and justifies our massive investment in new staff and facilities since then.
“We were committed to step change transformation and we had thought that this RAE may have come a little too early to demonstrate the impact of that change. But we were wrong. The evidence is now there for all to see – in terms of both Research Quality and Research Power (Quality x Volume), there is no longer a “Golden Triangle” in British Higher education research.
“The very best international teaching and learning universities are great research institutions, so the excellence in research demonstrated in the RAE is good news for our students.”
The results show an outstanding performance in the University’s Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences, with exceptional performances in Nursing and Midwifery, Cancer Studies, Dentistry, Primary Care and Other Community, Pharmacy and Cardiovascular Medicine.
Dean of the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences, Professor Alan North, said: “The results indicate that the University is strong across the entire range of medical subjects, from the origins of new advances in our laboratories to studies of their impact on the health of the population. They reflect the power, not simply of a handful of stellar academics, but the teamwork of an extensive network of researchers and support staff throughout the Faculty.”
The Faculty’s Associate Dean for Research, Professor Chris Griffiths, added: “These results are a source of great pride for the Faculty and underscore not only the excellence we have in biomedical and healthcare research but the tremendous breadth of expertise as compared to our competitors.”
Manchester is now one of only a handful of UK universities with an internationally significant research profile over a very wide range of subjects. The scale and diversity of its submission confirms Manchester’s status as a genuine research powerhouse.
The University of Manchester submitted research in 53 Units of Assessment, more than any other university in the UK.
In the past four years, The University of Manchester has achieved a net growth of close to 1,000 new researchers and invested more than £403 million in new and refurbished facilities.
Research quality is assessed every few years through the Research Assessment Exercise to allocate research funding and to provide information on the quality of the research in UK universities.
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For further information contact:
Aeron Haworth
Media Officer
Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences
The University of Manchester
Tel: 0161 275 8383
Mob: 07717 881563
Email: aeron.haworth@manchester.ac.uk