Civil engineering is a relatively recent branch of engineering, focusing on the built environment and incorporating aspects of architecture and sociology, particularly as applied to city planning. As such, schools and departments dedicated to civil engineering specifically have become more common, offering high-quality teaching and research on this topic. If you're interested in civil engineering, today we're sharing a list of the very best departments in Australia at which you can study this subject.

For ambitious and highly capable students, training in engineering is both an interesting and engaging challenge, and helps start them out on a secure career path. Degrees in engineering are highly respected and often identified as among the most challenging degrees that a student can undertake. There is an ongoing need for highly educated engineers to work in many sectors of society, and this need is likely to continue as governments and companies invest in infrastructure and new technologies.

Environmental science is an exciting new discipline, focused on aspects of life science, geography and climate change issues which are so important for our changing world. Universities have started to offer courses for this subject specifically, often within specialist departments. The United States is home to many of the best departments in the world, but excellent departments can also be found in Canada, China or Japan. Today we're looking at the top 20 departments worldwide.

With a tradition of engineering teaching in the UK, many departments are adapting and updating to reflect new world concerns regarding sustainable energy technologies. Energy engineering is an increasingly popular new field of study which considers the design and operation of energy technologies, often with a focus on their environmental impact. If you're interested in studying this exciting new field but are unsure where to start, we're here to help.

For a relatively small country in terms of geographical size and population, Switzerland has a notably high number of internationally regarded teaching institutions. When it comes to technology subjects, the ETH and EPFL in particular are known as some of the world's top research institutions. However there are also a number of other high quality universities in Switzerland which specialise in science and technology.

France is a leading academic country with a high number of internationally regarded universities, and strong teaching in science and technology. For those interested in computer science and IT, there are many courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate level to choose from in France. Here we list a ranking of the twenty best departments for computer science and IT, compiled from regional and international university rankings.

Germany has a strong history of university teaching in engineering especially, and this expertise is reflected in the large number of departments offering teaching in computer science and electrical engineering. For those students considering studying computer science or IT, there are many high-quality university departments in Germany. To help you in your search for the perfect department for you, below we're listing the top twenty departments for computer science and IT in Germany.

It's always a challenge to find the university which is the perfect fit for you – and to figure out where you'll get the best opportunities for teaching, research and academic development. While many students focus on the reputation of the university which they wish to attend, it's even more important to pay attention to the reputation of the department in which you'll study. Different institutions excel in different subjects, and so for this reason we're looking at the best departments by discipline.

The United States offers some of the best and most well-regarded Computer Science departments in the world. Today we're listing the top twenty departments for Computer Science and IT within the US, to help you find the best department for your undergraduate or postgraduate studies.

It's always a challenge to find the university which is the perfect fit for you – and to figure out where you'll get the best opportunities for teaching, research and academic development. While many students focus on the reputation of the university which they wish to attend, it's even more important to pay attention to the reputation of the department in which you'll study. Different institutions excel in different subjects, and so for this reason we're looking at the best departments by discipline.

With the ever increasing important of computers to our everyday lives, more and more people are choosing to study Computer Science or IT for their undergraduate or postgraduate degree. Hence there are a huge number of institutions around the world which offer teaching in this subject. To help potential students to find the best institution for them, we're posting rankings of the top departments in various countries, by subject.

IT and Computer Science are an increasingly popular choice of study for new undergraduates and postgraduates, as computers and computerised technologies are an ever more integrated part of our modern lives. The United Kingdom has a long history of research and innovation in computing, and offers many high-quality departments for studying IT at an undergraduate or postgraduate level.

The snow has melted, the sun is starting to appear and spring will soon be on us. So now is the time to start planning out your summer activities. For students or young researchers, summer schools offered by respected universities can provide great teaching opportunities. Here we're focusing on the best summer schools in Computer Science & Software Development, to give you the chance to learn a new programming language, to perfect your coding skills, or to lean a new development methodology. Read on for the best summer schools in this area.

If you're looking to study computer science or IT as an undergraduate or postgraduate, you'll want to find an institution which has a strong specialisation in the field, and which has teaching and research of an internationally recognised quality. To help you locate the best institution for your needs, we're compiling rankings of the best departments with various countries for computer science and IT. Today we're listing the top departments within Italy.

Computer Science is a booming subject in Australia, with many highly-regarded institutions offering courses for both undergraduates and postgraduates. But academic reputation is just one factor to consider when choosing a university – it's important to also look at the student experience, the quality of teaching, and the employment prospects of students to get a good measure of course quality.

By Sofia Izquierdo-SanchezUniversity of HuddersfieldTimberlake Consultants

This year, the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2016 has been awarded to both Oliver Hart, Professor of Economics at Harvard University and Bengt Holmström, Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Nobel Prize in Economics was given to the Professors for their contributions to contract theory, as mentioned by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in their press release.

Despite great progress that has been made in recent years in making academia more friendly for women, it still remains hard for women to be accepted and to excel in many academic institutions. Many women in academia, especially those in male-dominated fields, report that they find it more difficult to be taken seriously and more difficult to get promotions to senior roles than the men in their departments. So what can you do to maximise your career prospects as a woman working in an academic setting? Here our our tips to help women achieve career success.

If you're attending an academic conference for the first time, it can be a rather overwhelming experience! Follow these five tips to make your conference trip as smooth and productive possible.