Palacký University has been listed in the 101st to 200th positions in the new international Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings 2019. These global performance tables assess universities against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and also measure institutions’ social and economic impact.
Together with the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, Palacký University has achieved the best result among the listed Czech universities, with the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, and VSB – Technical University of Ostrava at the 301st+ positions. The first edition of the rankings includes 450 universities from 76 countries.
UP Rector Jaroslav Miller considers the placement of UP in the THE international rankings with the focus on social responsibility and principles of sustainable development to be a big success. “Our university has proven to be one of the global pioneers who consciously support the goals of sustainable development by means of education as well as research, one that advocates the principles of collaboration with regional partners and the support of solutions in contemporary society. A number of our activities attest to that. One of them is the Civil University, which offers educational and counselling services to the greater public free of charge, by means of UP teacher and student volunteers,” said Rector Miller.
| UP Placement in Czech Republic | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | University | SDG | |||
| 101–200 | Czech University of Life Sciences Prague | 8 | 12 | 13 | 17 |
| 101–200 | Palacký University Olomouc | 9 | 11 | 13 | 17 |
| 301+ | University of Chemistry and Technology Prague | 5 | 9 | 13 | 17 |
| 301+ | Technical University of Ostrava | 4 | 9 | 11 | 17 |
Source: UP Strategy and Quality Control Office
In order to place in the overall rankings, the competing universities had to score in four out of eleven areas or goals. The overall score was based on the three best results. Olomouc’s university achieved them in Industry, innovation, and infrastructure (101st–200th), Sustainable cities and communities (93rd), and Climate action (101st–200th). One of the prerequisites for inclusion in the rankings was also evaluation in the category Partnerships for the goals, where UP also occupied within the 101st–200th positions. The rankings also provide evaluations of universities’ performance in each goal. Palacký University placed in all eight areas in which it has submitted data.
Palacký University’s placement in individual areas | ||
|---|---|---|
| SGD | Rank | |
| 3 | Good health and well-being | 101–200 |
| 4 | Quality education | 201–300 |
| 5 | Gender equality | - |
| 8 | Decent work and economic growth | 101–200 |
| 9 | Industry, innovation, and infrastructure | 101–200 |
| 10 | Reduced inequalities | - |
| 11 | Sustainable cities and communities | 93 |
| 12 | Responsible consumption and production | - |
| 13 | Climate action | 101–200 |
| 16 | Peace, justice and strong institutions | 101–200 |
| 17 | Partnerships for the goals | 101–200 |
Source: UP Strategy and Quality Control Office
“The importance of social responsibility is defined for universities by their fundamental task, that is, bringing up the future generation that should carry on with the values of social responsibility.. At the same time, this relatively high placement of our university in the new global rankings by THE has demonstrated that even our daily internal processes and principles are set up in such a way that we as an organisation behave ethically during the realisation of our activities and contribute to sustainable growth. The evaluated indicators by THE have also proven the effectiveness of our efforts to push for the improvement of UP employees’ and our local partners’ lives, as well as improvement of the society as a whole, and they are a clear sign that the quality control system at UP has been adjusted in the right direction,” said Hana Marešová, UP Vice-Rector for Strategic Planning and Quality Control.
The list is led by the New Zealand’s University of Auckland, followed by Canada’s McMaster University and the University of British Columbia. Japan is the most-represented nation in the table with 41 institutions, followed by the US with 31 and Russia with 30. The rankings are available here.