VNU ranked 401-600 in the world in the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings

First time participating in the ranking period According to the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2021, Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) was highly appreciated for its development activities, especially the provision of quality educational services, contributing to the implementation of national tasks related to sustainable development goals with a ranking of 401-600, becoming one of the top 2 educational institutions in Vietnam in this Ranking.

THE Impact Rankings announced its first ranking results in 2019, aiming to measure the success of higher education institutions in implementing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (effective since 2016), calling for global action with the goal of building peaceful, equitable and prosperous societies. In other words, this Ranking assesses the impact and contribution of educational institutions to social development, human development, and environmental protection.

In the 2021 ranking, among 1,115 higher education institutions participating in THE Impact Rankings, Vietnam National University, Hanoi participated for the first time in 7 SDGs (including: Partnership for realizing development goals, Good health and life, Gender equality, Quality education, Economic growth and decent work, Reduced inequality, Peace, equity and strong institutions) and had outstanding rankings in 4 SDGs. Specifically:

SDG 4. Quality Education: VNU is ranked 92/966 educational institutions participating in the ranking. This is the highest ranking target and VNU has reached the world's top 100 in this target.

SDG 5: Gender Equality: VNU is in group 101-200/776 educational institutions participating in the ranking.

SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth: VNU is in group 201-300/685 educational institutions participating in the ranking.

SDG 17: Partnership for the goals: VNU is in group 401-600/1154 educational institutions participating in the ranking.

In addition, VNU is also ranked in other SDGs such as SDG 3 (Health and Well-Being) at 601-800, SDG 10 (Reduced Inequality) at 301-400, SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) at 301-400. Thus, it can be seen that, in the 7 categories/goals participating in the ranking, up to 5 goals of VNU are ranked in the group of 400 or higher.

If in 2020, Vietnam only had 2 higher education institutions in this Ranking, then in 2021, there were 4 educational institutions ranked, namely Hanoi National University (position 401-600), Ton Duc Thang University (401-600), Hanoi University of Science and Technology (601-800), and Phenikaa University (801-1000).

Image: Ranking of Vietnamese universities in THE Impact Rankings (Source: timeshighereducation.com)

All four Vietnamese higher education institutions are ranked highly in SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth). However, only VNU has a high ranking in SDG 4 (Quality Education), with 71.4 points, ranking 92nd in the world. This is also the highest score achieved by any Vietnamese educational institution. The Gender Equality Index (SDG 5) is also a strength of VNU and Hanoi University of Science and Technology. Meanwhile, SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) is one of the three outstanding indicators of Ton Duc Thang University and Phenikaa University.

Topping the THE Impact Rankings 2021 is the University of Manchester (UK), the next 3 positions are universities in Australia (University of Sydney, RMIT, and La Trobe University).

In Southeast Asia, Thailand has 25 universities in this Ranking. Malaysia has 19 universities, Indonesia has 18 universities, and the Philippines has 5 universities in this Ranking.

The ranking of Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) in the first time participating in THE Impact Rankings has demonstrated the important role of VNU in Vietnam's education system. Not only focusing on developing and providing high-quality educational services to the community, VNU also always goes hand in hand with the national and international sustainable development goals, meeting the country's development requirements, and actively contributing to community development. This is also in line with the trend of developing advanced higher education, in line with the core motto in action and development orientation of VNU: "Innovation - National responsibility - Sustainable development".

THE Impact Rankings includes the following criteria:

Accordingly, the final ranking score of a higher education institution in the rankings is the average of the SDG 17 (mandatory) score (accounting for 22% of the total score) with the three highest scores among the remaining 16 SDGs (each SDG has a weight of 26%).

For each SDG, the accompanying indicators are analyzed and used in the rankings based on 3 factors:

- Research (search for new solutions and knowledge),

- Management (use control and sustainability), and

- Community interaction (carrying out tasks and activities related to the community and society).

Previously, in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2021, VNU was in the 801-1000 group in the world. At the same time, in 3 consecutive rankings (2019 - 2021) of the QS World University Rankings, VNU has continuously maintained the 801-1000 position. In addition, VNU also ranked 101-150 for the first time in the QS Top 50 Under 50 Rankings 2021. In terms of rankings by field, VNU currently has 5 fields ranked by QS, which are Computer Science and Information Systems (ranked 601-650 in the world), Mechanical Engineering, Aeronautics and Manufacturing (451-500), Mathematics (401-450), Physics and Astronomy (501-550), Business and Management Studies (501-550). In the THE Rankings, the fields of VNU ranked include: Computer Science (501-600 in the world), Physical Sciences (601-800), Engineering & Technology (401-500).