Top ranking for "Quality education" in THE sustainability ranking

The design of open educational offers that students, citizens, and also young people in crisis regions around the world can benefit from is an important concern of the KU. In addition, it has long pursued the goal that all students, regardless of the course or department in which they are studying, should be able to acquire skills that enable them to promote respect for human rights, a culture of peace or cultural diversity, and in this way actively help to shape sustainable development.

"For us, the result is a great success, which we did not expect in this way. I am very pleased that our commitment to sustainable development is also perceived as being effective in an international perspective", says KU President Prof. Dr. Gabriele Gien on the ranking.

The KU also achieved very good results in the areas of "Responsible consumption and production" (SDG 12) and "Climate action" (SDG 13). In these fields of action, the KU is also among the top 20 percent internationally. The analysis and evaluation covered aspects such as approaches to waste avoidance, recycling, the systematic use of renewable energies, sustainable building management or cooperation with municipalities in monitoring and avoiding climate risks. The fact that the University had already adopted its second sustainability strategy in 2020, which is designed for a further ten years, and is one of the pioneers in the field of sustainability nationwide with the Whole Institution Approach was also highly acknowledged in the ranking.

Participation in THE Impact Ranking also makes it possible to identify issues that still need to be looked into for the future development of sustainability activities. For many years, for example, the University has reported its progress in its own sustainability report in six overarching fields of action. "The THE Impact ranking helps us to relate our sustainability activities more closely to the SDGs and thereby to internationalize them further. With the global sustainability goals, the United Nations has not only created a benchmark that provides orientation worldwide, but also creates new opportunities for cooperation", says Vice President Prof. Dr. Klaus Stüwe, who is jointly responsible for the area of sustainability.

1591 universities and colleges worldwide have taken part in the THE Impact Ranking. The ranking allows measuring universities' performance and achievements and to compare them against the United Nations' global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Areas as diverse as scientific publications, educational offers in the field of sustainability, collaboration with partner organizations, and science communication are considered.

Internationally, the THE rankings are among the most highly regarded. They are conducted and published by the Times Higher Education magazine. Since 2019, THE has also published the sustainability ranking. The KU had submitted data for five sustainability goals: SDG 4 "Quality education," SDG 7 "Affordable and clean energy," SDG 12 "Responsible consumption and production," SDG 13 "Climate action," and SDG 17 "Partnerships for the goals”. Only the four SDGs with the highest scores are included in the evaluation.