Far-reaching research and an international outlook are among the reasons De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) has been ranked in the world’s top universities by the Times Higher Education.
DMU’s computer science and engineering and technology subjects scored particularly highly in the 2020 World University Rankings, placing 201-250 and 301-400 respectively.
The assessment of almost 1,400 institutions is calculated using 13 performance indicators linked to teaching, research, citations, international outlook and industry income, to provide comprehensive comparisons which are trusted by students, academics, industry and governments around the world.
Professor David Mba, DMU’s Pro Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise) and Dean of Computing, Engineering and Media, said: “This ranking highlights the outstanding research and excellent courses available at DMU and recognises the fantastic work by our dedicated staff and students.
“As a truly global university, we’re proud to be ranked alongside the best institutions in the world, showing the outstanding level of research, teaching and learning on offer here.”
Out-performing its inaugural ranking last year, computer science at DMU – including subjects such as artificial intelligence, cyber security and information systems - is ranked 24th overall out of UK universities.
It also ranks 4th in the UK for citations, a research influence indicator capturing the average number of times a university’s published work was cited by scholars globally between 2014-2018, scoring 95.1 out of 100.
With 571 citations in the Elsevier’s Scopus database, DMU’s top computer science publication during this period is a comprehensive survey on wireless mobile networks in vehicles, published by Associate Professor in Cyber Security Dr Ali Hilal Al-Bayatti and academics from the University of North Texas and Bahrain’s Applied Science University.
Computer science at DMU is also named joint first in the world for the strength of its citations in the 2019 Global Shanghai Ranking, which evaluates 500 institutions globally, and is the only UK university listed to score 100 per cent in this area.
Professor Eerke Boiten, Associate Head of DMU’s School of Computer Science and Informatics, said: “Many of my colleagues have worked on foundational ideas in AI for many years, developing structural methods to allow you to reason with uncertain information.
“It has clearly been a successful approach as their papers are considered meaningful and are adding value around the world, which is fantastic.”
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Ranking higher than last year, and placing 29th overall out of UK institutions in the World University Rankings, are DMU’s engineering and technology subjects, which include energy and sustainable development, surface engineering and materials technology, micro and nano electronics, communications systems, electromagnetics and non-linear flight dynamics.
They have improved in all five areas of assessment, scoring 80.9 out of 100 for citations. The research in this area with the most citations, 229 in Scopus, looks at generating off-grid electricity in India using renewable energy technologies. It was published by DMU Professor of Energy Economics and Policy Subhes C. Bhattacharyya along with one of his students who is working in Germany.
Both engineering and technology and computer science subjects at DMU scored highly for their international outlook – 88.6 and 76 out of 100 respectively. Their scores were determined by the large number of international students and academics in each school, as well as the high proportion of research carried out with international co-authors.
Professor Ljiljana Marjanovic-Halburd, Head of DMU’s School of Engineering and Sustainable Development, said: “Our position among UK universities is particularly positive and the intensity of our research is reflected back in the calibre of students we’re attracting.
“This world ranking is absolutely essential for us and a huge boost for our researchers as it’s a well-deserved recognition of their efforts.”
Posted on Thursday 31 October 2019