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20 May 2012
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TIS Report 004
Report Title: Top 50 Italian Institutes
Category: Bibliometric Analysis
Key Words: university ranking, bibliometric analysis, research evaluation, ANVUR
Author: ‘Valutator’ committee
Affiliation: Via-academy
Date: 1/1/2011 11:54:57 AM

Abstract

Following the first TIS Report that presented the evolution of the TIS list, this paper shows how the same list can define the top research Institutes in Italy. The analysis has been conducted by members of the Via-academy who have formed the ‘Valutator’ committee and was originally aimed to define the 'Top 50' Institutes. However, by 21 April 2011 it has been decided to extend the analysis to all the institutes for which at least one TIS has been found. Moreover, the demand for a more normalized analysis has led to the development of a list based on the density of TIS with respect to the number of personnel (research or academically active) of each institute. This set of data is now made available online while the article is being finalized, considering also the inputs and suggestions raised by persons interested in this paper. An update at the end of May 2011 allows a more comprehensive appreciation of the relative ranking of top Italian Universities.

Why is it important?
It presents the most updated ranking of most research Institutes in Italy


Table 1 - The Top 50 research Institutes in Italy.
The Institutes are ranked according to the Sum of H-index of their affiliated TIS.
Those fundamentally private or independent are highlighted in yellow.
Please note, this table is updated in real-time, based on the TIS database.
RankItalian InstitutionSum of H-IndexN. of TISAverage H-Index
1 Milano 5579 132 42.3
2 Bologna 5388 125 43.1
3 Padova 5294 123 43.0
4 Roma 4421 112 39.5
5 Torino 4285 99 43.3
6 Firenze 3816 93 41.0
7 CNR 3708 89 41.7
8 INAF 3450 72 47.9
9 Napoli 2899 71 40.8
10 Genova 2889 67 43.1
11 Roma 2 2796 70 39.9
12 INFN 2689 58 46.4
13 San Raffaele 2633 58 45.4
14 Pisa 2575 59 43.6
15 Perugia 2154 53 40.6
16 Ferrara 2012 47 42.8
17 Cattolica Roma 1845 47 39.3
18 Pavia 1733 41 42.3
19 Milano Bicocca 1560 35 44.6
20 Bari 1457 35 41.6
21 Verona 1332 32 41.6
22 Ist Naz Tumori MI 1322 28 47.2
23 Mario Negri 1262 24 52.6
24 Modena 1180 29 40.7
25 Trieste 1108 27 41.0
26 Siena 1102 28 39.4
27 Brescia 1071 26 41.2
28 Parma 1010 26 38.8
29 Cagliari 985 24 41.0
30 Napoli 2 906 23 39.4
31 Chieti 809 21 38.5
32 Messina 784 20 39.2
33 Trento 744 18 41.3
34 SISSA 737 18 40.9
35 Gaslini GE 735 17 43.2
36 IIT 734 18 40.8
37 Politecnico MI 722 18 40.1
38 Palermo 717 20 35.8
39 Udine 714 19 37.6
40 Normale Pisa 706 15 47.1
41 Sanita' 669 16 41.8
42 Insubria Varese 624 16 39.0
43 IEO Milano 576 11 52.4
44 IST Genova 569 13 43.8
45 Catanzaro 561 14 40.1
46 IFOM 535 11 48.6
47 Roma 3 526 12 43.8
48 Piemonte Orientale 512 12 42.7
49 Uni. Calabria 501 12 41.8
50 Ancona 477 13 36.7
51 IRCSS S. Lucia 456 10 45.6
52 Humanitas 426 8 53.2
53 Salerno 424 11 38.5
54 IRCSS Cà Granda Osp. Maggiore MI 412 9 45.8
55 Catania 397 11 36.1
56 Camerino 389 11 35.4
57 Sant'Anna Pisa 330 8 41.2
58 Bocconi 299 7 42.7
59 Bambin Gesu' 264 6 44.0
60 Politecnico TO 254 7 36.3
61 L'Aquila 249 7 35.6
62 Campus biomedico 220 6 36.7
63 Foggia 203 6 33.8
64 Sassari 200 5 40.0
65 Ist Tumori Napoli 198 5 39.6
66 IRCSS Maugeri 192 3
67 Salento - Lecce 185 5 37.0
68 Cattolica Campobasso 176 4 44.0
69 Rizzoli BO 175 4 43.8
70 INMI Spallanzani 168 4 42.0
71 Ospedali Riuniti Bergamo 164 4 41.0
72 Regina Elena 157 4 39.2
73 Bergamo 150 3
74 CRO Aviano 149 4 37.2
75 IRCC 147 2
76 Menarini 145 3
77 San Raffaele Roma 142 3
78 Venezia 140 4 35.0
79 IUSS Pavia 132 3
80 Istituto Auxiologico 127 2
81 ISPO Firenze 124 3
82 EBRI Foundation 123 3
83 TIGEM 122 3
84 Tuscia 116 3
85 Fondazione Bruno Kessler 105 3
86 Burlo IRCSS 103 2
87 Benevento 101 3
88 INGM Milano 98 2
89 Ist. Toscano Tumori 94 2
90 LNCIB 94 2
91 Centro Diagnostico Italiano Milano 94 1
92 Chiron 92 1
93 ENEA 91 2
94 ICGEB Trieste 91 2
95 AOU Meyer 89 2
96 HSC Onlus 89 1
97 Politecnico Bari 86 2
98 Policlinico S.Matteo PV 81 2
99 Besta Milano 81 2
100 IMT Lucca 80 2
101 Roma, Latina 80 2
102 IRBM Pomezia 76 1
103 IRCSS CSH M.Rotondo 74 2
104 Molise 72 2
105 Cattolica Piacenza 71 2
106 Ospedale MOnza 68 1
107 MultiMedica Castellanza IRCSS 67 1
108 ANMCO Res. Firenze 67 1
109 Telethon Napoli 65 1
110 Fondazione Mach IASMA 62 1
111 ASI 61 1
112 ICTP Trieste 58 1
113 Intercept Pharm. 56 1
114 Neuromed 56 1
115 IRCSS S.Camillo VE 53 1
116 IDI Roma 53 1
117 Bolzano 52 1
118 Ospedale Niguarda Milano 51 1
119 Teramo 50 1
120 Mondino IRCSS 47 1
121 Ospedale San Bortolo-IRRIV Vicenza 46 1
122 Associazione Ricerca Cardiologica Roma 46 1
123 Chiesi 45 1
124 ANVUR 41 1
125 Ospedale Ragusa 40 1
126 Ospedale Avellino 39 1
127 Cattolica Milano 39 1
128 IME Foundation Rome 39 1
129 IRCSS San Matteo Pavia 39 1
130 Accademia dei Lincei - Roma 38 1
131 AIRC 38 1
132 Ospedale Pesaro 38 1
133 Nicox Research Institute Milano 38 1
134 Istituto Nazionale di Neuroscienze 38 1
135 Stella Maris Pisa 38 1
136 AFaR Roma 37 1
137 Urbino 37 1
138 Unifortune Milano 36 1
139 Reggio Calabria 35 1
140 Biobanca Terni 34 1
141 INRAM - Istituto Nazionale Nutrizione Roma 34 1
142 Ist. Dermatologico San Gallicano Roma 33 1
143 CRS4 33 1
144 OGS - Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica Sperimentale 33 1
145 Ospedali Riuniti Trieste 33 1
146 Veneto Nanotec 33 1
147 Parthenope Napoli 32 1
148 Ospedale Fatebenefratelli Roma 32 1
TABLE 2 - Top Italian Institutes Normalised by TIS Fraction
The Institutes are ranked according to the Fraction = (N of TIS) / Personell where Personell = prof. Ord + prof Ass + Researchers.
Those fundamentally private or independent are highlighted in yellow.
Please note, this table is updated in real-time, based on the TIS database.
Special Institutes:
RankItalian InstitutionSum of H-IndexN. of TISPersonellTIS Fraction %Notes
1 IUSS Pavia 132 3 7 42.86% most recent
2 SISSA 737 18 63 28.57%
3 San Raffaele 2633 58 253 22.92% private, medicine
4 Normale Pisa 706 15 95 15.79%
5 IIT 734 18 145 12.41% Genova, research only
6 Sant'Anna Pisa 330 8 67 11.94%
7 Mario Negri 1262 24 202 11.88% private
Generalist Institutes:
RankItalian InstitutionSum of H-IndexN. of TISPersonellTIS Fraction %Notes
1 Ferrara 2012 47 670 7.01%
2 Catanzaro 561 14 233 6.01% Sud, medicine
3 Milano 5579 132 2421 5.45% big
4 Padova 5294 123 2371 5.19% big
5 Brescia 1071 26 572 4.55%
6 Torino 4285 99 2212 4.48% big
7 Roma 2 2796 70 1565 4.47% big
8 Genova 2889 67 1586 4.22% big
9 Firenze 3816 93 2217 4.19% big
10 Perugia 2154 53 1267 4.18%
11 Insubria Varese 624 16 388 4.12%
12 Bologna 5388 125 3188 3.92% big
13 Verona 1332 32 816 3.92%
14 Camerino 389 11 285 3.86%
15 Milano Bicocca 1560 35 922 3.80%
16 Pavia 1733 41 1100 3.73%
17 Napoli 2 906 23 677 3.40% Sud
18 Bocconi 299 7 211 3.32% private
19 Pisa 2575 59 1788 3.30% big
20 Modena 1180 29 879 3.30%
21 Trieste 1108 27 870 3.10%
22 Trento 744 18 580 3.10%
23 Piemonte Orientale 512 12 396 3.03%
24 Chieti 809 21 733 2.86%
25 Siena 1102 28 1048 2.67%
26 Udine 714 19 738 2.57%
27 Parma 1010 26 1075 2.42%
28 Roma 4421 112 4665 2.40% big
29 Napoli 2899 71 3013 2.36% Sud, big
30 Ancona 477 13 552 2.36%
31 Cagliari 985 24 1178 2.04% Sud
32 Bari 1457 35 1888 1.85% Sud, big
33 Messina 784 20 1378 1.45% Sud
34 Uni. Calabria 501 12 847 1.42% Sud
35 Politecnico MI 722 18 1389 1.30%
36 Roma 3 526 12 943 1.27%
37 Bolzano 52 1 87 1.15%
38 L'Aquila 249 7 648 1.08%
39 Salerno 424 11 1027 1.07%
40 Palermo 717 20 2058 0.97% Sud, big
41 Tuscia 116 3 309 0.97%
42 Politecnico TO 254 7 885 0.79%
43 Venezia 140 4 538 0.74%
44 Sassari 200 5 718 0.70%
45 Catania 397 11 1670 0.66% Sud, big
46 Politecnico Bari 86 2 350 0.57%
47 Teramo 50 1 262 0.38% Sud
48 Reggio Calabria 35 1 294 0.34% Sud
49 Urbino 37 1 437 0.23%
The complete list of Italian Institutes producing research is presented in Table 1, following the decreasing order of their TIS affiliates. The data are updated automatically whenever additional persons are added to the TIS list (at the end of may 2001, including 2215 names, over 80% working in Italy). After the abstract and preliminary version of this list were made availabe at the beginning of 2011,  a number of colleagues have suggested that a more meaningful ranking of the Institutes would require a normalization according to the size of the same Institutes. Although the distribution of TIS was apparently not proportional to the size of many Institutes, the random statistics of large numbers inevitably favoured the biggest Institutes, in particular the largest universities and institutes which have over 1000 affiliates. We thus undertook a simple normalization accounting for size, bydividing the number of TIS for the number of personnel of each Institute. For universities, this number was taked as the sum of the persons holding an academic position according to the ufficial list of the MIUR Ministry. It has been assumed that all these persons would be potentially active in research, even if we had found that about 10% of all these academics are certainly not 'research-active', since they have h-index = 0. In the case of  non-academic Institutes, with the exception of Genoa's IIT, it has been  generally impossible to make an equivalent assumption, due to unclear proportion of administrative and technical prsonnell vs. that of 'research-active' persons. Moreover, it has been pointed out that the density of TIS (called TIS Fraction in Table 2) becomes inevitably much higher in small schools of excellence like Pisa's Scuola Normale or Trieste's SISSA, including also the aforementioned IIT. These Institutes recruit their personnell, as well as their students, on the basis of criteria of excellence that normally do not apply to other academic or research institutes. They thus work essentially as the elite universities abroad, which competitively recruit the best scientists in a given field. The same principle seems to apply also to the Institute of San Raffaele in Milan, a relatively recent  private university which is essentially dedicated to high quality biomedical research.

Considering the above, we have decided to subdivide the normalized list of 'TIS density' in two parts (Table 2): the first part has been restricted to 'Special Institutes' that apply this rare system of excellence, wheras the second part includes 'Generalist Institutes', namely all other academic universities which offer wide ranges of teaching (and research). In the first part, the very small IUSS of Pavia results on top, with a TIS Fraction >25%, followed by the much larger San Raffaele of Milan (Table 2). A comparison could be made between these values and that calculated for the Faculty fo Life Sciences (FLS), one of the four faculties of The University of Manchester, which is ranked second/third among all the equivalent biomedical institutes in UK. In FLS, the density of research-active personnel who show values of h-index >30 is 14% (including one Nobel laureate, affiliated also to Cambridge). This value is comparable with the TIS Fraction of Pisa's Normale, but clearly lower than that of the San Raffaele of Milan. Conversely, the same value is much higher than the TIS Fraction of the rest of Italian universities, among which Ferrara is on top with a density >5% (Table 2 - note than the national average of TIS Fraction is just above 2%). Following Ferrara is the top university of the South, Catanzaro, and some of the biggest universities, Milan and Padua. The same two big universities now lead also the ranking based on the total number of TIS (Table 1), ahead of Bologna. Interestingly, the top 7 universities according to the largest number of TIS (Table 1, cf. [1]) correspond to the same universities showing the highest cumulative scores in a recent meta-analysis of all national and international rankings [2]. This situation remains unaltered after the number of TIS has increased above 2300 in August 2011.

Because persons with elevated h-index tend to concentrate in biomedical areas, it is obvious that the normalization of their number spread across the entire set of academic areas will dilute the overall value of TIS density, except perhaps for those universities in which Medicine and Biology form a dominant part of the academic structure (as in the case of Catanzaro). Consequently, a more meaningful comparison could be drawn between Manchester FLS and equivalent large departments of pre-clinical biomedical research in top Italian universities. At the moment, Italian universities are undegoing a profound process of re-structuring according to the reform law 240, the so-called 'Gelmini reform' [http://www.via-academy.org/VIA/index.php?title=Riforma_Gelmini]. Owing to the current fluidity in academic organization, the above comparison cannot be propertly drawn. However, it is auspicable that this re-structuring process will lead to the synergistic aggregation of diverse departments and institutes into powerful academic entitites such as FLS has become in UK, both within Manchester University (now led by a prominent FLS lady scientist) and internationally.

References

[1] Luca Boscolo (2011) 'Le colonne del prestigio scientifico italiano',
http://www.via-academy.org/Italian_Scientists_and_Scholars_in_UK.aspx , accessed 2 June 2011.

[2] Geraci M, Degli Esposti M (2011) Where do Italian universities stand? An in-depth statistical analysis of national and international rankings. Scientometrics 87, 667-681.



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