Published: 12 May 2022
The results of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 have revealed that St George’s, University of London has ranked joint 8th in the country for research impact out of 129 institutions, according to scores calculated by Times Higher Education.
Announced today, the results showcase the research strengths of the university, with the number of research outputs assessed as world-leading (4*) almost doubling from 47 to 91 compared to the last assessment.
“Being recognised as a top ten university for research impact rank demonstrates our ability to translate research into societal benefits, making real-world change as a direct result of our outstanding academic research,” says Professor Jenny Higham, Principal at St George’s.
“As the UK’s specialist health university, being able to see improved outcomes in healthcare on a global scale as a result of our work is hugely rewarding,” she adds.
The REF is the system for assessing the quality of research in UK universities and higher education colleges. The results provide a robust and thorough assessment across all research disciplines and demonstrate the benefits of academic investment across the sector.
As an institution, St George’s returned 100% of eligible staff as part of the assessment, demonstrating values in openness and transparency, as outlined in the university’s Code of Practice, following a staff consultation. This figure also represents almost double the number of staff submitted compared to the last assessment, highlighting substantial growth in academic strength at the university.
Further highlights for St George’s in the assessment include:
- 36% of St George’s research assessed as “world-leading” (4*) – an increase compared to the REF 2014 score of 30%.
- 100% of St George’s impact cases were judged as world-leading (4*) or internationally excellent (3*).
As part of the assessment, St George’s submitted nine impact case studies, outlining the university’s most impactful research since REF 2014. You can read about the wide-ranging impact of St George’s research on the evolving Transformation Stories webpages.
“We would like to thank our entire research community, who have achieved excellent results,” says Professor Jon Friedland, Deputy Principal (Research and Enterprise) at St George’s.
“These results are a testament to St George’s exceptional researchers, across all levels, delivering work of outstanding importance. We now look forward to pushing on with renewed focus, carrying out the research to improve healthcare outcomes where they are needed most.”
The full set of 2021 results can be found on the REF website.