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practices, and the share of students taking
work placements.
Top overall: McMaster University, Canada
Top Australian: University of Sydney (=7)
Aussie unis top league tables
Radical new ranking measures
universities against UN goals.
By Dallas Bastian
A
ustralia has done well in Times
Higher Education’s newest ranking.
To nab the top overall spot, a
university had to demonstrate how it worked
to achieve some of the United Nations’
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The institution that did that in the ranking’s
inaugural year was the University of Auckland.
To compile the ranking, THE created 11
league tables based on individual SDGs.
Some of the metrics included universities’
policies on academic freedom, the use of
secure employment contracts, and the share
of senior female academic staff.
The University of Auckland’s pole position
was due, in part, to its top scores for two of
the goals: good health and wellbeing, and
partnerships for the goals. It was also equal
6th on the gender equality table.
Australia’s top performer on the overall
table was Western Sydney University,
making its debut at 11. It was followed by the
University of Wollongong at equal 13th and
the University of South Australia at 22.
Western Sydney University topped the
gender equality table, helping propel it to
just outside the top 10. It was also 2nd when
looking at the reduced inequalities goal,
beaten by James Cook University, Australia’s
other top performer. Australia swept the
podium for that goal, with the University of
South Australia rounding out the top three.
Those efforts helped the nation become
one of the top countries based on average
overall scores, behind Canada and Ireland.
Meanwhile, Japan was the most represented
country in the overall ranking, followed by
the US and Russia.
2
THE said the new table was the world’s
first global attempt to document evidence
of higher education impact and represented
“a radical new way of looking at university
excellence [that went] beyond the teaching
and research focus of traditional rankings”.
While the ranking’s first year included only
11 of the 17 SDGs, THE said it plans to rank
performance against all of them in future.
Phil Baty, chief knowledge officer at THE,
said: “This exercise puts all universities on a
level playing field, as reflected in the results,
which includes all types of institutions from
big name research powerhouses to local
institutions in developing countries that have
never before engaged in global rankings.”
Below is a breakdown of the best
performers across the 11 SDGs looked
at this year.
Good health and wellbeing for people
Measures research on key diseases
and conditions, support for healthcare
professions, and students and staff health.
Top overall: University of Auckland
Top Australian: University of Sydney (4)
Quality education
Measures contribution to early years and
lifelong learning, pedagogy research, and
commitment to inclusive education.
Top overall: Gothenburg University, Sweden
Top Australian: University of South Australia (8)
Gender equality
Measures research on the study of
gender, policies on gender equality, and
commitment to recruiting and promoting
women.
Top overall: Western Sydney University.
Decent work and economic growth
Measures economics research, employment
Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Measures research on industry and
innovation, number of patents, spin-off
companies, and research income from
industry.
Top overall: Yonsei University, Seoul campus,
South Korea
Top Australian: Monash University (=59)
Reduced inequalities
Measures research on social inequalities,
policies on discrimination, and commitment
to recruiting staff and students from under-
represented groups.
Top overall: James Cook University
Sustainable cities and communities
Measures research on sustainability, role as
a custodian of arts and heritage, and internal
approaches to sustainability.
Top overall: Kyung Hee University, South Korea
Top Australian: University of Queensland (5)
Responsible consumption and production
Measures research on responsible
consumption and approach to sustainable
use of resources.
Top overall: University College Cork, Ireland
Top Australian: Monash University (27)
Climate action
Measures research on climate change, use of
energy, and preparations for dealing with the
consequences of climate change.
Top overall: University of British Columbia
Top Australian: Macquarie University (17)
Peace, justice and strong institutions
Measures research on law and international
relations, participation as an adviser to
governments, and policies on academic
freedom.
Top overall: National Taiwan University
Top Australian: University of Wollongong (11)
Partnerships for the goals
Looks at the broader ways universities
support the Sustainable Development Goals
through collaboration with other countries,
the promotion of best practices, and the
publication of data.
Top overall: University of Auckland, University
of Manchester (=1)
Top Australian: University of Wollongong (13) ■