Two universities from the Australian State of Victoria, which is home to world-class education institutions, has been listed in the top 100 of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2015-2016.

The rankings were released at the World Academic Summit in Melbourne, held in partnership with the University of Melbourne. The conference brings together senior university, government and industry leaders in one of the most prestigious gatherings in the world, said a statement.

The University of Melbourne (33) was the highest-ranked Australian university and the only Australian university in the world’s top 50, as well as the highest-ranked institution in the Southern Hemisphere, it said.

Monash University (73) also rose 10 places from 2014-2015 while another four Victorian universities – Deakin University, La Trobe University, Swinburne University and RMIT – were ranked in the world’s top 500, it added.

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2015-2016 list the best global universities and are the only international university performance tables to judge world class universities using 13 performance indicators across all of their core missions - teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.

Melbourne and Victoria each year attract more than 160,000 international student enrolments. International education generated A$5.3 billion ($3.86 billion) in export earnings in 2014 and supports over 30,000 jobs, making it Victoria’s largest single export sector.

The State Government of Victoria is committed to supporting international students who study in Victoria. The Government’s A$4 million ($2.9 million) International Student Welfare Grants were introduced this year to provide support to organisations who work with international students.

The choice of Melbourne as the host city of this year’s Summit was testament to the reputation of the city and Victoria as a ‘knowledge hub’ and a global leader in international education.

Steve Herbert, Victorian minister for training and skills, said: “Given the rapid rise of high quality universities in our region, the University of Melbourne and Monash University should be lauded for once again being recognised in the top 100 universities by one of the world’s most followed indicators of education quality.”

“The efforts of these two universities are symbolic of our firm belief that producing new ideas and knowledge are the best ‘renewable energy’ assets we have for the future of Victoria,” he said.

“We’re committed to cementing Victoria as the Education State and this result will help attract more international students to our shores,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service