NEW YORK, NY—July 6, 2011— The Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel has once again been named as the "best place to work in academia" outside the United States by The Scientist magazine, which recently released the results of its ninth annual survey. This is the third time that the Weizmann Institute has been ranked by respondents as the top international institution. It has also appeared second on the list several times, including in 2010. The results from this year's survey are published in the July 2011 edition of The Scientist.
Participants in the ninth annual Best Places to Work in Academia survey, which included more than 2,000 full-time life scientists, were asked to assess their work environment and experience, while indicating which factors were most important to them. The Weizmann Institute's overall score was in the 100th percentile, and scientists rated the statement, "My work gives me great personal satisfaction," a perfect five on a scale of one to five.
Weizmann Institute Vice President Prof. Haim Garty told The Scientist that the Institute has received increasing support from Israeli and European Union funding sources, offsetting a six percent drop in U.S. government funding since 2007. "As a result, the total grant money not only did not decrease during the economic crisis, but actually increased by as much as 20 percent since 2007," he said. These funds, together with sharing of internal resources at the institution, helped "enable continuity of highquality research in rough periods."
The Weizmann Institute is the only Israeli research center on the magazine's list of the top 10 international academic institutions. Readers ranked The J. David Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco, California as the top institution in the United States. Other countries represented on the list include Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
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