Electrical and Computer Engineering at Alberta ranked among the very best

ECE at Alberta ranked 43rd in the world

Robyn Braun - 20 January 2020

According to results put out by the National Taiwanese University (NTU), 2019 was a successful year for the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. NTU began its "Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities" in 2007 in an effort to develop a ranking of world universities that is more objective than other available ranking systems. The study ranks the top 500 universities in the world in 14 subjects according to the scientific papers published by faculty and researchers.

NTU ranked Electrical and Computer Engineering at Alberta 43rd in the world overall and 14th in North America. This puts the department in league with other elite ECE departments at top universities in North America and at the front of the pack with other successful U of A departments that are consistently ranked among the top 50 in their fields. Compared to ECE departments at other Canadian universities, ECE at Alberta ranked number one for publications in 2019. We were also ranked third in Canada for the average number of publications per year over the past 11 years, as well as for citations for 2019 and citations over the past 11 years.

The indicators used by NTU are designed to compare both the quality and the quantity of the scientific publications in each university. The study examines a university's long-term publication performance by measuring the average number of citations per subject area over the past 11 years. Short term publication performance, where the department ranked first in Canada, is measured using both the number of citations as well as the h-index of the papers published in the previous two years. In this way, the short-term index is a measure of not only the quantity of publications but also their quality.

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has recently completed strategic planning exercises during which were established ambitious goals to motivate and mobilize faculty.

"We have developed strategies of mentorship and collaboration that will allow our researchers to succeed and keep growing," says Associate Chair Research, Dr. Petr Musilek. "Our best researchers mentor new colleagues and share their strategies and experiences in all aspects of research, including the publication of research results."

The department has also initiated programs to share their research results and engage graduate students. Each month four graduate students, all working in the same field, present their work to the department.

"Our faculty also work hard to actively expand their networks through international collaboration and participation in technical and professional societies," says Musilek. "All these activities help others to learn about the great work we do and that ultimately contributes to our publication record."