By producing cutting-edge research and teaching the sustainability champions of the future, universities are at the forefront of the fight for a sustainable planet. But the challenge is huge and to have a substantial impact universities must look beyond the sector and partner with organisations elsewhere.
Times Higher Education’s (THE’s) unique Impact Ranking dataset assesses how universities are performing against each of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Universities demonstrating productive engagement with all sectors of society is key to achieving the goals defined by the UN: no significant progress can be made by any sector in isolation, and the purpose of the THE Impact Rankings is to recognise the role universities play in this.
For each SDG, we collect data and assess universities on several indicators. Many of these indicators look at partnership and related concepts. These encompass cooperation with institutions, collaborative work as well as various types of support offered by universities to external organisations or people. The partners in those relationships include the non-profit and corporate sectors, other higher education institutions (HEIs), and governmental organisations at various levels.
The institutional data for these impact indicators are provided directly by universities, which opt in to take part in the exercise. They can submit data on as many of the SDGs as they are able. The voluntary effort required in gathering and providing the data already suggests that universities are committed to taking action to achieve sustainable development in those areas.
