University of Southampton: Second successive top 50 global rating for Statistics & Operational Research at Southampton
Southampton ranks top 50 globally for Statistics & Operational Research for a second year running.
Southampton’s global ranking for Statistics & Operational Research has risen again this year, reaching 33rd – an improvement of 4 places on last year – in the QS World University Rankings by Subject for 2021.
Southampton, which is ranked seventh by QS amongst UK universities listed in this subject area, not only improved its ranking for Statistics & Operational Research this year but also its ‘h-index’ score. This measures the productivity and impact of work published by scientists and scholars in the subject through researchers from Mathematical Sciences, the Department of Social Statistics and Demography (part of the School of Economic, Social and Political Sciences), and the Centre for Operational Research, Management Sciences and Information Systems (CORMSIS).
Dr Toni Martinez-Sykora, Associate Professor in Business Analytics at the Southampton Business School and Director of CORMSIS said: “Over recent years CORMSIS has grown and become an internationally-leading research centre in Operational Research/Management Science. This recognition from QS is showing the effort from over 50 leading academics and members from both Mathematical Sciences and Southampton Business School, carrying out world-class research and teaching as well as working closely with industry and public services.
“This is a recognition of the engagement from CORMSIS academics with international and world-leading conferences, research outputs and their impact, high-quality teaching and close engagement with industry and public services,” Dr Martinez-Sykora concluded.
Nikos Tzavidis, Professor of Statistical Methodology and Head of Economic, Social and Political Sciences, added: “The ranking for Statistics and Operational Research reflects the diversity of expertise in statistical sciences at Southampton. The Department of Social Statistics and Demography, part of the School of Economic, Social and Political Sciences, is a world-leading centre of research in survey and official statistics methodology, statistical demography, and statistical modelling. Our academics produce top quality academic outputs, work collaboratively with researchers from highly ranked universities round the world and lead on large research projects that receive support from a variety of funding sources. This ranking also provides evidence of the high-quality education in statistics at Undergraduate, Masters and PhD levels at the University of Southampton.”
Paul Smith, Professor of Official Statistics and Director of the Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute (S3RI) praised the efforts of colleagues in making the global top 50 for a second successive year: “The rise in ranking reflects the reputation S3RI has for excellent research in a range of statistical areas and reflects the hard work and dedication of its staff.”
Dave Woods, Professor of Statistics and Head of Statistics within Mathematical Sciences, added “Academics from S3RI are world-leading in our core research areas, including design of experiments, biostatistics, and spatial modelling, and have built key relationships with national and international organisations and industries”.
Professor Smith continued: “S3RI brings together over 50 academics, research and support staff in one of the largest groups of academic statisticians in the UK. The high-quality research S3RI undertakes, in collaboration with organisations from round the world, has direct applications in many areas of society and science. These applications provide case studies which enrich our teaching and research impact.”