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THE Impact Rankings

 

THE Impact Overview

 SDG Image

The Times Higher Education (THE) launched its Impact Ranking in 2018/19.  The aim of this ranking was to capture universities' impact on society based on their success in delivering the United Nations Seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UN has outlined these 17 SDGs with the aim of achieving a better and more sustainable future for all by 2030. The goals address the global changes we face including poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice. According to the Times Higher Education (THE) the purpose of this ranking is to  “provide a showcase for the work being delivered by universities in our communities, and it is an opportunity to shine a light on institutional activities and efforts not covered in other rankings. It allows THE to demonstrate the differences a university is making to the world we live in”.

University of Galway participated in the inaugural THE Impact rankings back in 2017 participating in SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing only. In 2023 we participated in eleven of the seventeen SDG's.  In order to apply for an Overall Rank, a university must submit data for at least four out of the seventeen SDGs with "SDG 17 Partnership for the Goals" being compulsory.  A submission can then be made for any additional SDGs. The Times Higher Education publishes the results for the Universities' best four of all the SDGs submitted.  See details of each of the SDGs and the metrics required here on, THE Impact Rankings 17 SDGs Poster

 

Results 2023: 

University of Galway was overall ranked 34th in the world (no. 1 in Ireland) in the 5th annual  THE IMPACT Rankings, pubished May 2023, out of 1,591 institutions from 112 countries across the world. 

It also achieved a top 50 rank in seven of the individual SDGs and a 101-200 rank in a further four individual SDGs - See more on  University of Galway's SDG Ranking results here.  

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2023 Results: THE Impact Ranking

THE Impact Ranking Logos

 

University of Galway continued to climb in the  5th edition of the Times Higher Education (THE) World IMPACT Rankings 2023, improving from 47 in 2022 to a global rank of 34 (no. 1 again in Ireland) out of a total  of 1,591 institutions from 112 countries across the World. This Impact Ranking is the only global performace table that asses universities against the United Nations' Sustainabile Development Goals (SDGs). 

In the eleven individual SDGs that University of Galway participated in, it achieved a top 50 global ranking in 7 SDGs and a 100-200 rank in a further 4 as follows:

 THE Impact Rank results 2023

See more details of the methodology and scoring.

 

  • SDG 3 Good Health & Wellbeing
    Measuring the University’s research on key diseases and conditions, international collaborations with global health organisations and support for healthcare professions and the health of students and staff.
  • SDG 5 Gender Equality
    Measuring the universities’ research on the study of gender, their policies on gender equality and their commitment to recruiting and promoting women. 
  • SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy
    This measures the University’s research related to efficient energy consumption, our own energy use and policies and our commitment to promoting energy efficiency in the wider community. 
  • SDG 9 Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure
    This measures universities’ research on industry and innovation, their number of patents and spin-off companies and their research income from industry.
  • SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities 
    Measuring the universities’ research on social inequalities, their policies on discrimination and their commitment to recruiting staff and students from under-represented groups. 
  • SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities 
    This measures the university’s research on sustainability, our role as custodian of arts and heritage and our internal efforts on practicing and promoting sustainability. 
  • SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Reduction
    This measures the university's research in this area and the  University's Sustainability report along with the amount of recycled waste and policies in place for waste reduction and recycling  
  • SDG 13 Climate Action
    This measures the University's research in the area of Climate action along with educational campaigns and target measures on Carbon Neutrality for the university. 
  • SDG 14 Life below Water   
    Measuring the University’s research on life below water and efforts at supporting, educating and sustaining aquatic ecosystems both locally and globally.  
  • SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    Measuring the University’s research on Law, Human rights and international relations, and our participation as advisors and influencers of government policy.
  • SDG 17 Partnership for the Goals
    This measures the broader ways in which the University supports the UN SDGs through collaboration with other countries, the promotion of best practices and the publication of data for informing research and decision making.


For more details on the Universty's actions and activities towards supporting all the UN SDGs please the University of Galway's Sustainability Report.

Sustainable Development Goals

See the list of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined by the United Nations and a short summary of what the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings focus on in each of the SDGs below.

 

See the SDGs highlighted, which University of Galway made a submission for in the Times Higher Impact Ranking, published in May 2023.
See more details of what is required for each of the SDGs for a university's submission in the, THE Rankings detailed guide for SDG 1-17.

 United Nations 17 SDGs 
1. No Hunger This ranking focuses on universities’ research on poverty and their support for poor students and poor members of their local community.
2. Zero Hunger This ranking focuses on universities’ research on hunger, their teaching on food sustainability and their commitment to tackle food waste and address hunger among students and local communities
3. Good Health and Wellbeing This ranking focuses on universities’ research on the key conditions and diseases that have a disproportionate impact on health outcomes across the world, their support for healthcare professions, and the health of students and staff. It is not a general measure of a university’s medical teaching and research.
4. Quality Education This ranking focuses on universities’ contribution to early years and lifelong learning, their pedagogy research and their commitment to inclusive education. As early years provision and lifelong learning are not the main focus of education at universities, this table should not be used to assess the overall quality of teaching at a university.
5.Gender Equality This ranking focuses on universities’ research on the study of gender, their policies on gender equality and their commitment to recruiting and promoting women. The SDG itself phrases this explicitly as supporting women. We cannot hope to develop the world sustainably if the needs of over half of our population are not addressed.
6.Clean Water and Sanitation This ranking focuses on universities’ research related to water, their water usage and their commitment to ensuring good water management in the wider community.
7.Affordable and Clean Energy This ranking focuses on universities’ research related to energy, their energy use and policies, and their commitment to promoting energy efficiency in the wider community.
8. Decent Work and Economic Growth This ranking focuses on universities’ role as an engine for economic growth and their responsibilities as employers. It explores institutions’ economics research, their employment practices and the share of students taking work placements.
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure This ranking focuses on universities’ role of fostering innovation and serving the needs of industry. It explores institutions’ research on industry and innovation, their number of patents and spin-off companies and their research income from industry.
10. Reduced Inequalities This ranking focuses on universities’ research on social inequalities, their policies on discrimination and their commitment to recruiting staff and students from under-represented groups.
11. Sustainable Cities and Communities  The focus of this ranking goes beyond the traditional view of sustainability as being about stewardship of resources to also look at the role of a university in sustaining and preserving the heritage of communities. It explores institutions’ research on sustainability, their role as custodians of arts and heritage and their internal approaches to sustainability.
12. Responsible Consumption and Production This ranking focuses on the efficient use of resources and minimising waste. Universities must play their part in ensuring that their consumption is minimised, especially where resources are not renewable.
13. Climate Action This ranking explores universities’ research on climate change, their use of energy and their preparations for dealing with the consequences of climate change.
14. Life Below Water This ranking explores universities’ research on life below water and their education on and support for aquatic ecosystems.
15. Life on Land This ranking explores universities’ research on life on land and their education on and support for land ecosystems.
16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions This ranking focuses on how universities can support strong institutions in its country and promote peace and justice. It explores universities’ research on law and international relations, their participation as advisers for government and their policies on academic freedom.
17. Partnership for the Goals This ranking looks at the broader ways in which universities support the SDGs through collaboration with other countries, the promotion of best practices and the publication of data. Unless all partners work together towards the SDGs, they cannot be achieved. This is the only compulsory SDG for inclusion in the overall rankings. It is also worth a smaller proportion of the final score in the overall table.

A university can choose to apply for a rank in all 17 SDGs and the Times Higher will select the best four results. In 2023 University of Galway submitted an application for eleven out of the total of seventeen SDGs. 

  1. SDG 17 Partnership & Goals
  2. SDG 3 Good Health and Wellbeing
  3. SDG 5 Gender Equality
  4. SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy
  5. SDG 9 Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure
  6. SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
  7. SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
  8. SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Reduction
  9. SDG 13 Climate Action
  10. SDG 14 Life below Water
  11. SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

SDG Methodology

The Methodology(2023) and the percentage weighting for each of the metrics within each of the SDGs are outlined here.

As per the THE "The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings measure global universities’ success in delivering the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Here, we explain how we arrived at the results

The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings are the only global performance tables that assess universities against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Three broad areas across each of the SDGs are used to capture comprehensive and balanced comparisons:
  1. Research, 
  2. Outreach 
  3. Stewardship

In order to qualify for an overall university rank in the THE rankings, a university must apply to four of the SDGs with SDG 17 "Partnership and Goals" being compulsory.

The weighting for each of the SDGs is: 

  • SDG 17=22%   Partnership & Goals
  • SDG A= 26%   (any SDG from the remaining SDG 1-SDG 16)
  • SDG B =26%   (any SDG from the remaining SDG 1-SDG 16)
  • SDG C =26%   (any SDG from the remaining SDG 1-SDG 16)

    TOTAL = 100%

A university can choose to apply for a rank in all 17 SDGs and the Times Higher will select the best four results. 
in 2022 and 2023 University of Galway participated in 11 of the 17 UN Sustainable Goalss (SDGs).

 

Webinar hosted by THE on the Impact Rankings

This webinar hosted by the Times Higher Education, August 2020 highlights some key points regarding the Impact Rankings.