THE Impact Rankings 2020: universities play key role in pandemic recovery

Universities' impact on local communities is vital to strengthen society, writes Ellie Bothwell

七月 9, 2020

Source: Getty

As Times Higher Education was collecting and analysing data for the second edition of the Impact Rankings, Covid-19 was spreading across the globe. Universities the world over were shutting their campuses, students and academics were retreating into their homes, and teaching and research collaborations were moving online.

When the ranking results were revealed on 22 April most of the world was still under lockdown.

The Impact Rankings are the only global league table to assess the social and economic impact of universities, using metrics based on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. But perhaps there is no better illustration of the value and worth of universities than their response to the pandemic itself.

Higher education institutions have been at the forefront of the fight against the virus, working overtime to find a vaccine, provide medical supplies and offer expert guidance to governments.

They have developed innovative new ways of teaching online and ensuring that campuses can reopen for the next academic year while adhering to social distancing laws and guidelines.

They have also proved that they are true pillars of their communities, providing meals for vulnerable residents and offering support for small businesses as well as hosting regional coronavirus testing centres.

The Impact Rankings are based on data that predate the pandemic, but as a recent analysis shows, some of the metrics are highly relevant in today’s post-Covid-19 world. The measures for SDG 3 (good health and well-being) are perhaps the most obvious examples, with metrics including institutions’ research on key diseases and conditions, the proportion of their health graduates, their outreach programmes related to health and their health services for students and staff.

But some of the metrics included in the other SDG tables, such as student food security, use of secure employee contracts and the promotion of remote working, provide a sense of how institutions may be performing in terms of responding to the social impact of the virus.

Universities have, of course, always been involved in research, education and outreach work that has a hugely beneficial impact locally and globally, but the myriad ways in which they contribute to society is perhaps more visible and better understood now than ever before.

We are delighted that we can celebrate that in our 18 Impact Rankings tables – the overall ranking and the 17 tables demonstrating performance against each of the SDGs. As countries and their higher education sectors recover, it will be more vital than ever for societies to recognise the impact of universities. We hope that this exercise will ensure that the value of higher education remains at the forefront of people’s minds long after the pandemic has loosened its grip on the world.

ellie.bothwell@timeshighereducation.com

Countries/regions represented in the overall Impact Rankings 2020

Country/region	Number of institutions	Top institution	Rank
Japan	63	Hokkaido University	76
Russian Federation	47	Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University	37
Turkey	37	Abdullah Gül University	101–200
United Kingdom	34	University of Manchester	8
Spain	32	University of Malaga	40
United States	31	Arizona State University (Tempe)	5
Brazil	30	University of São Paulo	=14
India	26	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	=57
Taiwan	24	National Cheng Kung University (NCKU)	38
Egypt	23	Alexandria University	101–200
		Benha University	101–200
Pakistan	23	University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore	101–200
Australia	21	University of Sydney	2
Canada	19	University of British Columbia	7
Thailand	19	Chulalongkorn University	101–200
		Khon Kaen University	101–200
		King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi	101–200
Iraq	18	University of Babylon	401–600
		University of Kufa	401–600
Iran	17	Iran University of Medical Sciences	=55
France	16	Aix-Marseille University	20
Mexico	16	National Autonomous University of Mexico	=62
South Korea	16	Yonsei University (Seoul campus)	=47
Chile	13	Pontifical Catholic University of Chile	101–200
Malaysia	13	Universiti Sains Malaysia	65
Colombia	11	CES University	101–200
		EAFIT University	101–200
Italy	10	University of Bologna	6
Portugal	10	University of Coimbra	=62
Ukraine	10	Sumy State University	201–300
China	9	Tongji University	13
Indonesia	9	University of Indonesia	=47
Republic of Ireland	9	Trinity College Dublin	=14
Finland	7	Aalto University	=47
New Zealand	7	University of Auckland	1
Romania	7	Bucharest University of Economic Studies	201–300
		University of Bucharest	201–300
Ecuador	6	Salesian Polytechnic University	201–300
Hungary	6	University of Szeged	101–200
Peru	6	Pontifical Catholic University of Peru	201–300
Bangladesh	5	BRAC University	301–400
		Daffodil International University (DIU)	301–400
Czech Republic	5	Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CULS)	201–300
Jordan	5	Al Ahliyya Amman University	301–400
Poland	5	University of Gdan´sk	301–400
Poland	5	University of Warsaw	301–400
Saudi Arabia	5	King Abdulaziz University	101–200
Tunisia	5	University of Tunis El Manar	301–400
Algeria	4	Université 8 Mai 1945 Guelma	401–600
		University of Béjaïa	401–600
Latvia	4	Riga Technical University	101–200
Lebanon	4	American University of Beirut	201–300
		Lebanese University	201–300
Netherlands	4	Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam	39
Nigeria	4	University of Ibadan	201–300
Philippines	4	University of Santo Tomas	301–400
Slovakia	4	Comenius University in Bratislava	201–300
South Africa	4	University of Johannesburg	75
Bahrain	3	University of Bahrain	201–300
Cyprus	3	Cyprus University of Technology	301–400
		University of Nicosia	301–400
Ghana	3	Ashesi University	301–400
Greece	3	National and Kapodistrian University of Athens	201–300
Hong Kong	3	University of Hong Kong	=41
Switzerland	3	University of Geneva	101–200
		University of Lausanne	101–200
United Arab Emirates	3	University of Sharjah	301–400
Azerbaijan	2	Azerbaijan State University of Economics	601+
		Khazar University	601+
Denmark	2	Aalborg University	=23
Germany	2	University of Hamburg	101–200
Iceland	2	University of Iceland	201–300
Kazakhstan	2	Almaty Management University (AlmaU)	301–400
Morocco	2	Ibn Tofaïl University	201–300
Palestine	2	Birzeit University	101–200
Sri Lanka	2	University of Peradeniya	301–400
Sweden	2	University of Gothenburg	=45
Vietnam	2	Hanoi University of Science and Technology	301–400
		Ton Duc Thang University	301–400
Afghanistan	1	Kardan University	601+
Argentina	1	National University of Quilmes	601+
Austria	1	Modul University Vienna	401–600
Belgium	1	Université libre de Bruxelles	101–200
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1	International University of Sarajevo	601+
Bulgaria	1	Sofia University	401–600
Costa Rica	1	University of Costa Rica	201–300
Israel	1	University of Haifa	201–300
Jamaica	1	The University of the West Indies	401–600
Kenya	1	Kenyatta University	401–600
Kuwait	1	Kuwait University	401–600
Macao	1	Macau University of Science and Technology	401–600
Northern Cyprus	1	Eastern Mediterranean University	401–600
Norway	1	University of Bergen	=85
Puerto Rico	1	University of Puerto Rico	401–600
Qatar	1	Qatar University	201–300
Slovenia	1	University of Maribor	401–600
Uruguay	1	University of Montevideo	401–600
Uzbekistan	1	National University of Uzbekistan named after Mirzo Ulugbek	601+
Venezuela	1	Andrés Bello Catholic University (UCAB)	601+