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Australian institutions are generally ranked well … reflecting the multifaceted nature of research , engagement and policy capability .
Making an impact
An analysis of the second annual THE Impact Rankings .
By Anand Kulkarni
Now officially in its second year , the Times Higher Education ( THE ) Impact Rankings is garnering more attention among institutions than before . This year , 1115 institutions are globally ranked , compared to 768 last year .
The Impact Rankings measure universities ’ commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs ). There are 17 of these goals including addressing climate change , natural resource management , energy , sustainable cities and communities , gender inequality , and innovation and infrastructure .
To be ranked overall , institutions must submit information on the mandatory SDG 17 Partnership for the goals , and at least three other SDGs , provided various thresholds are met . Institutions are also ranked on their contribution to individual SDGs , and in some cases they may choose not to submit for the overall ranking , but instead focus on individual SDGs .
The THE Impact Ranking considers research , stewardship , outreach and teaching metrics and is based on both quantitative and qualitative data , including evidence about partnerships that institutions enter into at home and abroad , community engagement and facilitation and policy advice to governments . Thus , the Impact rankings are very much about the multiple missions that modern higher education institutions undertake and extend well beyond the mainstream rankings , which have a strong focus on traditional metrics of publications , citations , research income and student and staff numbers .
Of the overall globally ranked 1115 institutions in the Impact Rankings 2021 , the leaders in number of ranked institutions are Russian Federation ( 75 ), Japan ( 73 ), UK ( 50 ), India ( 49 ), US ( 45 ), Brazil ( 38 ) and Taiwan ( 35 ). This pattern is different from the usual rankings in which the US and Europe dominate , and is a reflection of the fact that a number of the “ usual suspects ” ie traditional , sandstone institutions around the world do not participate in the THE Impact Rankings .
While there is growth overall in the number of institutions ranked this year , the standout countries for increases are Russia and India . The number of globally ranked institutions from India has almost doubled from 26 to 49 . This is instructive given that many of the SDGs bear directly on the core challenges that India faces in poverty , gender equity , urbanisation and climate change . Of interest also is the relative lack of Chinese institutions in these rankings , 13 this year and nine last year . On the contrary , the number of ranked Chinese institutions in the traditional or mainstream rankings is much higher and has been growing rapidly in recent years , reflecting strong investment in capability building in its higher education sector .
AUSTRALIA ’ S PERFORMANCE Australia performs very well with 24 ranked institutions , up from 21 last year . As a proportion of its total institutions this is a very good result . Beyond this is the quality of Australia ’ s performance . Four Australian Institutions are ranked in the top
10 ( University of Sydney , RMIT , La Trobe and University of Wollongong ) and 10 are in the top 50 , reflecting the overall strength and commitment to SDGs .
When looking at individual SDG rankings for Australia ( regardless of whether the institution is ranked overall ), the following standout performance is observed :
• 26 ranked institutions in SDG 3 Good Health and Well-Being
• 24 ranked institutions for SDG 17 Partnership for the Goals
• 21 ranked institutions in SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
• 19 Institutions in both SDG 4 and SDG 5 , Quality Education and Gender Equality respectively
• 18 ranked Institutions in SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities Australian institutions are generally ranked well across the breadth of SDGs , reflecting the multifaceted nature of research , engagement and policy capability in Australian institutions . Given the strength of research and other capabilities in medical and related areas , it is unsurprising that Good Health and Well-Being stands out . In a number of SDGs Australian Institutions are world ’ s best .
Although still important the less well ranked areas for Australian institutions are : SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production with 8 institutions ; SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation and SDG 14 Life Below Water , both with 12 institutions ; and SDG 13 Climate Action with 11 . Arguably , these perhaps do not represent either areas of greatest capability or need for Australian institutions relative to other SDGs , or that the issues do not have as great a national profile and funding , or judgements are made by institutions that others around the world are ahead . ■
Dr Anand Kulkarni is a higher education professional at Victoria University . This article represents the author ’ s views entirely .
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