ITMO made it to the top 600 in the overall ranking based on its contributions to ten Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): 

  • Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
  • Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • No Poverty 
  • Affordable and Clean Energy
  • Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • Responsible Consumption and Production
  • Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions 
  • Good Health and Well-Being
  • Partnerships 
  • Quality Education

In the ranking for SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure – ITMO finished 73rd, having climbed three places up from last year’s 76th spot. This ranking assesses the participating universities’ research in the fields of industry and innovation, their number of patents and spin-off companies, and their income from industry collaborations.

Credit: ITMO University

Credit: ITMO University

THE University Impact Rankings launched in 2019 to evaluate the contribution of the world’s universities to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. These days, in order to be featured in the ranking, a university has to present initiatives corresponding to at least four out of the total of 17 SDGs, including Partnerships. A total of 1,591 universities are featured in the 2023 edition of the ranking.

Over the years of being represented in the ranking, ITMO has constantly expanded its presence in the chart. In 2019, the university started with only two initiatives, in 2020 – submitted four, in 2021 – was featured in seven categories, and for the past two years the university has been represented in ten SDG rankings.

Apart from relying on the information provided by participating universities, the ranking’s experts consider the data from the scientific database Scopus. The ranking is based on weighted indicators to provide a balanced comparison of the world’s universities across four broad areas: research (producing studies in relevant fields), stewardship (managing physical and human resources), outreach (working with local, regional, national and international communities) and teaching (training high-profile SDG-aware professionals). You can find a detailed overview of THE University Impact Rankings methodology here.