Dear colleagues,
I am delighted to report that the University of Aberdeen has been named within the top 10 universities in the UK and top 50 in the world in the new Times Higher Education Impact Rankings published today. Aberdeen has risen eight places to rank =10th in the UK and 22 places to =48th globally out of nearly 2,000 institutions participating in the rankings.
The Times Higher Education Impact Ranking captures universities’ impact on society and the environment based on their success in delivering the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The scale and importance of this ranking grows each year, with a significant further expansion to 1,963 institutions from last year, an increase of 372.
As in previous editions, the University is ranked for its three strongest (scaled) SDGs along with SDG17 which is mandatory.
- SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities (17th globally)
- SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production (56th globally)
- SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions (67th globally)
- SDG 17 Partnership for the Goals (75th globally) (mandatory for ranking)
The University has also been ranked within the top 100 in the world for a further four SDGs:
- SDG 2 Zero Hunger (54th globally)
- SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth (83rd globally)
- SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities (57th globally)
- SDG 13 Climate Action (90th globally)
You can read about the brilliant work across the University community in relation to all 17 SDGs that has led to our outstanding result in our most recent Sustainable Development Goals Annual Report. To highlight just a few examples:
- SDG 1 No Poverty: Professor Azizul Islam’s work on improving the lives of garment workers in Bangladesh was rewarded with a prestigious national fair-trade award.
- SDG 2 Zero Hunger: our Students’ Union supports a range of initiatives that help mitigate the cost-of-living pressures on students – from their FoodShare hub; to the clothing SwapShop; and free bike hire, AUSA is helping students make ends meet.
- SDG 3 Good Health & Well-being: pioneering research has linked genetic variation to the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer.
- SDG 8 Decent Work & Economic Growth: the Rowett Institute’s work on the potential of hemp production was recognised with a Green Gown ‘Research with Impact’ Award.
- SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities: Project SEARCH helps young people in the North-East living with learning disabilities to secure work experience and employment.
- SDG 12 Responsible Consumption & Production: Aberdeen, Glasgow and Oxford universities received £940,000 from the Wellcome Trust to explore the potential of plant-based foods in encouraging healthy, climate-friendly diets.
- SDG 13 Climate Action: our Sustainability and Planning teams have developed an innovative data dashboard that places all our emissions data in the public domain.
- SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals:the University’s Just Transition Lab is working with the North-East Scotland Climate Action Network on how citizen assemblies can support community led approaches for a just energy transition in the region.
Our success in this ranking confirms the real impact that our work across the full range of our Aberdeen 2040 Themes of Inclusive, Interdisciplinary, International and Sustainable is having globally and in our region.
Whether it’s highlighting the inequalities experienced by workers in the Bangladeshi garment industry; hosting important climate assemblies for our local communities; or using cutting edge genetics techniques to identify populations at greater risk of breast cancer – to name just a few projects - it’s clear research at the University of Aberdeen is tackling the major issues facing global society today.
Coming on top of our excellent result in the QS Sustainability Rankings published in December 2023, where we ranked 37th in the world and 15th in the UK, this result cements our reputation as a leading university in the UK and globally for sustainability.
You can access a full analysis of the THE Impact Ranking results via the Planning and Governance webpages, while more information can be found in relation to our work on sustainability, via our dedicated sustainability webpages.
Best wishes,
Karl
Karl Leydecker
Senior Vice-Principal