KU scores top position in international sustainability ranking

The annual University Impact Ranking, which is carried out by the renowned British academic journal Times Higher Education (THE), examines how well universities contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It covers all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), i.e. areas such as education, climate protection, health and prosperity. The participating institutions are evaluated in terms of their research, their social commitment, their use of resources and their teaching methods. The participating institutions can decide for themselves in which areas they want to take part in the international comparison. The aim of the ranking is to measure and promote the role of universities and higher education institutions in advancing sustainability and justice in society.

Last year, the KU took part in the ranking for the first time and already achieved good results. In this year’s participation, the KU achieved even better results.  In SDG 4 ("Quality Education"), the KU improved its already good ranking from last year by four places and now ranks 51st worldwide . In this category, the ranking examines, for example, the quantity and quality of courses and continuing education programs offered at the University - including, but not limited to, education for sustainable development - as well as their accessibility to interested parties who are not members of the University.

Providing and conceptualizing open educational offers that students, citizens, and also young people in crisis regions around the world can benefit from is an important focus area of the KU. It also aims to ensure that all students – regardless of the degree program or subject area in which they are studying – can acquire skills that enable them to promote respect for human rights, a culture of peace and cultural diversity and thus actively help shape sustainable development. SDG 4 also examines how well universities provide information about their sustainability activities and their progress in this field.

"The results of the THE ranking are a great success for us – especially the fact that we were able to improve on last year's results that were already very good. 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.

For SDG 12 ("Responsible consumption and production"), the KU made it into the TOP 100 in the new survey. It is ranked 83rd internationally – out of 825 universities worldwide that that were compared in this field. Last year, the KU also ranked outside the TOP 100 in terms of climate action (SDG 13) and is now ranked 57th out of more than 900 universities worldwide. In this category, the university's specific climate protection measures are assessed. The analysis and assessment covered aspects such as approaches to waste avoidance, recycling, the systematic use of renewable energies, sustainable building management or collaboration with municipalities in monitoring and avoiding climate risks.

Overall, the KU took part in this ranking in six of the 17 sustainability goals. It was evaluated for the first time on SDG 11, which deals with the role of universities in making cities and communities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable – for example through research projects in this field. In this first attempt, the KU ranked between place 200 and 300 – out of more than 1,000 participating universities.

Participation in THE Impact Ranking also makes it possible to identify issues that still need to be looked into further for the future development of sustainability activities. "The ranking helps us to bring not only our sustainability activities, but also the entire development of the University even closer to the SDGs and to further internationalize them”, says Vice President Prof. Dr. Klaus Stüwe, who coordinates both the area of sustainability and the implementation of the KU's development plan within the University Management.

Two thousand universities and higher education institutions worldwide have taken part in the THE Impact Ranking. In the overall ranking, the KU is placed in the range between 400 to 600. Internationally, the THE rankings are among the most highly regarded. The ranking is conducted and published by the Times Higher Education magazine. Since 2019, THE has also been publishing the sustainability ranking.