Times Higher Education (THE) has published its latest Impact Rankings. These measure the contributions of universities to meeting the 17 sustainable development goals announced by the United Nations.
These goals are No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Good Health and Well-Being, Quality Education, Gender Equality, Clean Water and Sanitation, Affordable and Clean Energy, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry Innovation and Infrastructure, Reduced inequalities, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Responsible Consumption and Production, Climate Action, Life Below Water, Life on Land, Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, and Partnership for the Goals.
The scores for the individual goals are based on a combination of research metrics, including papers and citations, university plans, programmes, and policies, and statistical data provided by institutions.
Universities that submit data for Partnership for the Goals and at least three other indicators are eligible for the overall rankings.
There is a high level of participation from Russia, Japan, India, Brazil, Iraq and Turkey. The best national performance was by Australia which took seven of the top twenty spots.
In contrast, the leading Chinese universities such as Peking, Fudan and Tsinghua were absent as were Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Yale, and leading public institutions in states such as California and Michigan.
The top five universities in this year’s ranking are:
- University of Manchester, UK
- University of Sydney, Australia
- RMIT University, Australia
- La Trobe University, Australia
- Queen’s University, Canada.
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