The fourth edition of the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings has been published, assessing the overall ranking of 1.406 universities from 106 different countries and regions. A considerably higher number of institutions - compared to 1.117 from 94 countries last year - are assessed based on four broad areas: research, stewardship, outreach and teaching. They are measured according to  the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17 (partnerships for the goals); at minimum three other SDGs are included in the overall ranking of the data submitted by the universities.

This year an Australian university (Western Sydney University) headed the world’s only ranking that measures universities’ contribution to the SDGs thanks to their high social and economic impact. Arizona State University (Tempe) in the US ranked second, followed by Western University in Canada.

The top 10 group includes universities from the UK (2) and Canada (2), Australia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and the US: it does not feature any institution from the EU.

A number of countries have demonstrated a positive change in providing clean water and sanitation, efficient resource consumption, reducing inequalities and eliminating poverty. However, more support is needed for sustainable development, especially among reputable universities that have not yet been recognized in the Impact Rankings. A major issue that persists is that less than half of the universities in the latest edition of the research-focused World University Rankings are included in the final Impact Rankings Table.

Read the full report here.