ISLAMABAD: Thirty-six public and private sector universities of Pakistan were featured in Times Higher Education Ranking 2021, marking a significant improvement in the global standing of the country’s varsities. One university featured in the 201-300 rank band, two in the 301-400, five in the 401-600, nine in the 601-800, ten in the 801-1,000 and nine in the 1,001+ rank band. Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood shared the news regarding Pakistani varsities making it to the global ranking. Mahmood tweeted: “Last three years have seen a greatest upward movement of Pakistani universities in global rankings. We still have ways to go, but the direction is right, the pace is good. Credit to PTI government and the universities that made us proud.” Sharing a link to the report on Twitter, the education minister said: “Pakistan is one of the world’s fastest-improving nations on key metrics for universities. We are among the top five nations for improvements in research citations and industry links.” According to the global ranking, the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) featured in the 300 rank band, while the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, and COMSATS University Islamabad featured in the 400 rank band. The University of Lahore and NED University of Engineering and Technology were in the 401-600 rank band, while Fatima Jinnah Women University, Jinnah Sindh Medical University and the University of Sargodha were in the 601-800 rank band. The Iqra University, Dow University of Health Sciences and Quaid-e-Azam University were in the 801-1,000 rank band. The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings is the global performance index that assess universities against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The assessments are done across four broad areas — research, stewardship, outreach and teaching. The 2021 Impact Rankings is the third edition and the overall ranking includes 1,117 universities from 94 countries and regions.