LAHORE: The Government College University (GCU) has made improvement in its international impact ranking to be included in the world’s top 401-600 universities in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Impact Rankings 2022.

More than 1,500 institutions from 110 countries of the world submitted data to the THE for participating in the fourth edition of its ‘Impact Rankings’.

The rankings, open to any university that teaches at either undergraduate or postgraduate level, are the first to measure global universities’ progress towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Impact Rankings include 18 tables – one for each of the 17 SDGs as well as one overall ranking.

Russia leads on the number of submissions for the second consecutive year with 103 universities providing data. Japan is second with 84 while Pakistan has risen to third place with 66 of its institutions taking part.

Times Higher Education will publish World University’s Impact Ranking 2022 on April 27 (today) at 11pm. The advance intimation and email sent to the GCU is available with Dawn.

GCU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Asghar Zaidi said the university’s overall score had increased to 66.9 in 2022 (data year, 2020) as opposed to 30.5 in 2021 (data year, 2019).

“We were ranked in the 1000+ banding last year in 2021 but this year our ranking has jumped to 401-600 ranking which is no doubt a tremendous achievement.”

He said the best-performing categories are Goal 1 (G1) – research on poverty and support to the poor students; G4– quality education; G7-affordable and clean energy; G8–role as an engine for economic growth and responsibilities as employers; G10–research on social inequalities and policies against discrimination; G15–research and education on life on land and support for land ecosystems and G17 – support to SDGs through collaborations.

Prof Zaidi said the GCU ranked among the top 100-200 universities in the world in research on poverty and support to poor students and role as an engine for economic growth and responsibilities as employers.

He hoped the GCU’s ranking would further improve next year because initiatives he had taken in the last two years were now yielding results. He requested the government to provide funding to the university.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2022