For the second time, Times Higher Education has published a prestigious ranking of universities implementing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set out in Agenda 2030 and therefore committed to addressing the most significant global problems of today's world, such as poverty, social inequality, lack of sufficient access to knowledge, climate change or environmental devastation.
In THE Impact Rankings, published on April 22, 2020, the University of Gdańsk was ranked very high in terms of its contribution to Goal 14, 'Life under water', the meaning of which boils down to protecting the oceans, seas, and marine resources and sustainably using their potential. The university ranked 42nd out of 242 higher education institutions worldwide in this category. This undoubted success confirms the high position of the University of Gdańsk (co-founder of the European University of the Seas alliance, SEA-EU) among universities conducting research and education related to maritime topics.
The University also ranked highly in terms of achieving Goal 11, 'Sustainable cities and communities'. - i.e. a range of 101 – 200 out of 470 universities assessed under this Goal. The University's contribution to addressing the adverse effects of rapid urbanisation, improving resource efficiency, reducing pollution, and providing access to essential services, energy, housing, transport, and others to make cities safe, stable, sustainable, and inclusive was recognised.
The global ranking considering all 17 Goals involved 766 top universities from 85 countries, including five from Poland. The University of Gdańsk was ranked in the range of 301 – 400, with the University of Warsaw in the same bracket. AGH University of Science and Technology, Gdańsk University of Technology and Wroclaw University of Technology were classified in the range 401 – 600.
THE Impact Rankings reflect the current trend in the discussion on assessing universities' social and economic importance and impact. In addition to the scientific and educational activities of universities, the ranking also considers actions within the so-called third mission of the university and its socio-economic involvement. Thus, the ranking promotes and emphasises the importance of these activities, the contribution of universities to the global development agenda and their impact on improving the quality of life, the environment, and the climate. The very high position of the University of Gdańsk in this ranking confirms its strength in selected areas of scientific specialisation, as well as the importance of its research, education, and collaboration with the socio-economic environment for the development of the city of Gdańsk and the entire region.
Complete list of the results of THE Impact Rankings
The assessment of the university's impact on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals is based on precisely selected indicators, individual for each goal category. More about the methodology
