Times Higher Education, or THE, is an independent British magazine that publishes data on tertiary education institutions. The Impact Rankings uses a comparative framework to measure the social and economic impact of universities from all over the world, assessing them against the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The results for the 2020 Impact Rankings were announced on the 22nd of April.

Each university can submit data for evaluation and indicate which SDGs they wish to be ranked. Okayama University submitted data relating to 4 SDGs (namely, goal 3: Good Health and Well-being, goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, and goal 17: Partnerships) and ranked among the top 200 universities globally for each category.

Overall, Okayama University was ranked 201-300 internationally (out of 766 universities worldwide) and 9th nationally (out of 63 Japanese universities). Additionally, in recognition of our tireless efforts towards providing practical and sustainable solutions in our region (goal 11), we ranked 2nd nationally and 83rd internationally.

Furthermore, it should be noted that Okayama University has greatly improved its ranking since last year, when it placed 19th nationally and under 301st internationally. And our university’s incorporation of SDGs is just beginning. As a SDGs promotion research university, we recognize that SDGs are an investment in our future and hope to connect our local initiatives with global networks to have an even greater positive impact.

THE University Impact Ranking 2020