Wollongong short-listed for inaugural Commonwealth University of the Year award

Oct 17, 2006

The University of Wollongong has been short-listed as the only Australian university for the inaugural award as The Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) “Commonwealth University of the Year”.

The award, open to all higher education institutions in the Commonwealth excluding those from the UK, was focused on how universities achieved community engagement. There are 18 THES awards in total, with the “Commonwealth University of the Year” award being the only one open to universities outside of the UK. The “Commonwealth University of Year” award 2006 is being run for the first time in liaison with the Association of Commonwealth Universities.

Five universities have been short-listed for the “Commonweath University of the Year”and the winner will be announced on 15 November in London. The five universities are:

• National University of Singapore

• University of Benin, Nigeria

• Fatima Jinnah Women University, Pakistan

• Uganda Martyrs University

• University of Wollongong

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Wollongong, Professor Gerard Sutton, said UOW’s submission was based on its community engagement achievements, particularly its contribution to regional development, between 1 July 2005 and 30 June 2006.

“It’s a tremendous achievement for the University to reach this short-listed stage and to be recognised for our commitment to a mutually beneficial relationship valued by the University and the community,” Professor Sutton said.

The Vice-Chancellor cited the example of the University-community relationship in regard to the two key developments of an Innovation Campus and a Graduate School of Medicine.

The news of UOW’s short-listing for this award follows on the recent announcement that UOW had been listed in the THES Top 200 World University Rankings.

The rankings list the top 500 universities from an estimated 15,000 institutions across the globe. UOW was placed in the top 200 list, ranked 196.

For further information contact the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Gerard Sutton, on (02) 4221 3909.

For more information, contact:

media@uow.edu.au
University of Wollongong
Ph: (02) 4221 5942; fax (02) 4221 3128