Aussie IT research hits global benchmark

The 2010 Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) report has rated local research in computing and information technology as on par with or better than the rest of the world, while research into quantum physics was rated above the global average.

Rating by agency (Credit: figures by ERA 2010 report, compiled by Luke Hopewell/ZDNet Australia)

The report presents the results from five years of Australian research between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2008. Given the data, the Australian Research Council assigned each agency a ranking out of five, with rankings four and over classed as above world standard in the field of research.

Computing research returned mixed results over the five-year period, attracting an average rating of 3.4 out of five and managing to file 14 patents across seven different research areas including Artificial Intelligence, Computer Software, Distributed Computing and Information Systems research.

Research into the fields of Mathematical, Information and Computing Sciences rated well, achieving four out of five, placing it above the world average for research contributions in the field. Researchers in this area managed to file 20 patents in the five-year period.

Quantum physics research was also rated well by the ERA report, achieving 4.5 out of five. Research was demonstrated primarily in journal article contributions, followed by conference papers and books. Quantum research also netted two patents in the five-year period.