The Times Higher Education has published its 2023 findings on the SDG performance of universities globally. The top ten include three higher education institutions from Australia and four from Canada. Universities from Denmark, Malaysia, and the UK are also among the top ten performers.
The Times Higher Education issues annual Impact Rankings based on four approaches to advancing the SDGs: research; stewardship; outreach; and teaching. It provides a ranking of overall SDG performance as well as on each of the 17 Global Goals.
According to the 2023 rankings, released on 1 June, for the second year in a row, the highest-scoring institution is Western Sydney University in Australia, having achieved a near-perfect score. The UK’s University of Manchester is second, making it the top European institution in terms of SDG performance.
With 46% of its ranked institutions (26 out of 57) placing in the top 100, the UK “is home to more universities represented in the top tier of the Impact Rankings than any other nation,” according to a Times Higher Education press release. With 16 institutions, Canada is second, and, with 15, Australia is third. The US and New Zealand each have seven universities in the top 100.
New Zealand and Australia also have the largest proportion of universities in the top 100 of the 112 countries included in the ranking (88% and 63%, respectively), closely followed by Canada (62%).
Universities in other countries rank first on specific SDGs, for example:
- SDG 1 (no poverty): University of Johannesburg in South Africa;
- SDG 4 (quality education): Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana;
- SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth): IPB University in Indonesia, tied with RMIT University in Australia;
- SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure): three German universities and the University of Twente in the Netherlands are tied for the first place with the perfect score of 100; and
- SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions): Tohoku University in Japan.
The Times Higher Education also offers rankings by subject and by reputation, as well as regional rankings, among others. [Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2023] [News Article on Impact Rankings 2023] [SDG Knowledge Hub Article on 2021 Rankings]