Congratulations to the researchers who contributed to the RAE (Research Assessment Exercise). The results were published today by Hefce, the higher education funding council.

The RAE is a peer review exercise which evaluates the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. This assessment will inform the UK higher education funding bodies’ distribution of grants (with effect from 2009-2010). However, the allocation of the approximate £1.2 billion to universities will not take place until March of next year.

All the results for Cambridge are available at: http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/news/press/factsheets/rae-2008.pdf and full details about the RAE http://www.rae.ac.uk/

• 4* indicates quality that is ‘world-leading in terms of originality, significance and rigour’,
• 3* indicates quality that is ‘internationally excellent in terms of originality, significance and rigour but which nonetheless falls short of the highest standards of excellence’,
• 2* indicates quality that is ‘recognised internationally in terms of originality, significance and rigour’,
• 1* which indicates quality ‘that is recognised nationally in terms of originality, significance and rigour’,
• ‘unclassified’, which indicates quality ‘that falls below the standard of nationally recognised work’ or ‘work which does not meet the published definition of research for the purposes of this assessment’.

Full University news statement is available