Press release · Australia and New Zealand edition
Global Research Partnerships
London, 26 September 2026
Only the United Kingdom and the United States placed more universities in the global top 50 of the first Research Collaboration Index. Monash University is seventh in the world, and Auckland carries New Zealand into the top 100.
The inaugural Research Collaboration Index (RCI), which measured 1,195 universities in 81 countries on who actually builds knowledge together, has placed Australia third in the world by the number of universities in its global top 50. Only the United Kingdom, with fifteen, and the United States, with fourteen, placed more than Australia's six.
Monash University ranks seventh in the world, ahead of Harvard at eighth and Stanford at tenth. The University of Queensland ranks 11th, Melbourne 16th, Sydney 19th, UNSW Sydney 31st and the University of Western Australia 42nd. Eleven Australian universities sit inside the global top 100.
The index is built entirely from open, public data: 26.8 million co-authored research records published between 2021 and 2025. There are no surveys and no submissions. It measures who a university works with, in how many countries, how deep those ties run and how much the joint work is cited.
Australia's strength runs across the subject tables as well as the overall index. Australian universities hold 20 of the 260 subject top ten places, more than any country other than the United Kingdom, the United States and Hong Kong. The University of Melbourne ranks third in the world in Arts and Humanities and fifth in Nursing. Monash University ranks third in Decision Sciences and fourth in Health Professions. UNSW Sydney ranks fourth in Engineering and fifth in Energy. The University of Queensland ranks fourth in Social Sciences, and RMIT University fifth in Business, Management and Accounting.
| World | University | Partner institutions | Countries |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Monash University | 1,188 | 81 |
| 11 | The University of Queensland | 1,188 | 81 |
| 16 | The University of Melbourne | 1,185 | 80 |
| 19 | The University of Sydney | 1,185 | 80 |
| 31 | UNSW Sydney | 1,181 | 79 |
| 42 | The University of Western Australia | 1,167 | 80 |
| 54 | The University of Adelaide | 1,168 | 80 |
| 75 | Australian National University | 1,161 | 79 |
| 80 | University of Technology Sydney | 1,131 | 79 |
| 82 | Macquarie University | 1,139 | 79 |
| 84 | Curtin University | 1,137 | 80 |
| 95 | University of Auckland | 1,156 | 79 |
| 101 | Deakin University | 1,136 | 79 |
| 128 | Griffith University | 1,131 | 79 |
| 141 | Queensland University of Technology | 1,126 | 78 |
In New Zealand, seven of the country's eight universities are ranked. The University of Auckland is 95th in the world, the country's only entry in the global top 100, and the University of Otago follows at 219th.
The result is a portrait of research systems built outward. Every one of Australia's six top 50 universities works with partners in at least 79 of the 81 countries in the index.
Australia's result is the one that should make the rest of the world look twice. A research system of its size placing six universities in the global top 50 is not an accident of reputation. It is what decades of working outward, across the Pacific, into Asia and back to Europe, looks like when you finally measure it.
Daniel Llewellin, Strategic Partnerships Director, Global Research Partnerships
Since the index went live, universities in several countries have announced their results in their own words.
These collaborations are vital to delivering outstanding research and so I am incredibly proud that Queen Mary has been ranked 25th in the world for our research collaborations.
Professor Colin Bailey CBE, President, Queen Mary University of London Read the announcement
These results reinforce UEA's reputation as a research powerhouse, particularly in fields linked to food security, climate science, health, the arts, biodiversity and environmental change.
Professor Julian Blow, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation, University of East Anglia Read the announcement
This means the university acts as a connecting link between research teams and communities from different parts of the world that would not otherwise meet without its participation.
Eva Kopecká, University spokeswoman, Comenius University Bratislava (translated from slovak) Read the TASR report (in Slovak)
I'm happy to see that our efforts to stimulate collaborations are recognized in this index
Professor Bas de Bruin, Scientific Director, Van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam Read the announcement
The biggest challenges facing society cannot be solved by any one institution, discipline or country acting alone. This analysis highlights the strength of Nottingham's global research partnerships and our ability to connect expertise, ideas and communities around the world.
Professor Tom Rodden, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange, University of Nottingham
The index also named 26 Subject Award winners, individual academics chosen for the collaborations their work anchors. The full list, with every citation, is public at globalresearchpartnerships.com/rci/awards.
The index will be refreshed annually. Every university's full profile, partner list and subject positions are free to read at globalresearchpartnerships.com/rci.
The Research Collaboration Index is computed from the open global scholarly record for 2021 to 2025, 26.8 million co-authored research records across 1,195 universities in 81 countries, fractionally counted so that no output is double credited. Six pillars are scored: network influence, partner reach, partner country diversity, citation impact of joint work, sustained deep partnerships and international intensity. Subject indices rerun the same pillars within each of 26 fields. There are no surveys, no submissions and no votes, and the full methodology is published at globalresearchpartnerships.com/rci/methodology. The index is free, public and independent: no commercial relationship changes any position.
Global Research Partnerships is an independent research intelligence company based in London. The full results, all 26 subject rankings and every Subject Award citation are public at globalresearchpartnerships.com/rci. The index measures research collaboration standing, not reputation, teaching or overall quality. Data sources: the open scholarly record (OpenAlex) for publication and co-authorship data, with funding verified against funders' own award records, including the European Commission (CORDIS), the US National Institutes of Health and the Crossref Funder Registry. Data to June 2026. Photographs of the Subject Award winners and interview access are available on request.
Media contact: Daniel Llewellin, Global Research Partnerships, daniel@globalresearchpartnerships.com, globalresearchpartnerships.com/press
ENDS
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