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JEDDAH: The Saudi Electronic University has joined the list of global universities in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings for the first time.

The Times list, which placed the Saudi Electronic University 401 out of 600 globally recognized institutions, measured the university’s performance according to the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, including “ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong opportunities for all.”

In entering the rankings for the first time, the SEU placed among the top 300 universities in the world in the 17th SDG, which seeks to strengthen and revitalize global partnerships for sustainable development.

It also ranked 101 out of 200 in the fourth goal regarding “quality education,” 201 out of 300 in the 10th goal of “reducing inequalities,” and in the third SDG, “good health and well-being,”  placed 301 out of 400.

The fifth SDG focusing on gender equality and the empowerment of women saw SEU place 301 out of 400.

In July 2020, Hamad Al-Sheikh, the Saudi minister of education, appointed Lilac Al-Safadi as president of the Saudi Electronic University. The appointment made Al-Safadi the first women president of a Saudi coed university.

Al-Safadi said that the university had achieved several important objectives as part of its strategy plan, including “building a leading regional role in e-learning” and the “inclusion of the university in the indicators of world university rankings.”

Jeddah’s University of Business and Technology also scored a new international achievement by ranking on the list of the top 400 universities worldwide.

The achievement was due to the university’s contribution to the UN goals of reducing inequalities, procuring adequate work and achieving economic growth.

The university’s policies resulted in empowering both genders, especially women, who make up 40 percent of the university’s senior leaders and 54 percent of the university’s labor committee (7 out of 13 members are women). The committee was one of the first established in a private university in the Kingdom.

In addition, the university supports initiatives that contribute to creating a unique work environment to attract talent, including providing an appropriate environment for people with special needs.

Abdullah Dahlan, chairman of the board of trustees of UBT, and Osama bin Ahmed Janadi, president of the university, expressed their pride in the continuous efforts made by university employees to strengthen integration and positively impact society. They said the combined effort strengthened the status of the university at the local and international levels.