University College Cork (UCC) has placed 67th of 1,963 universities from around the world in the latest results of the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings.
Now in its sixth year, the THE World Impact Ranking is the world’s only evidence-based rating that measures universities’ commitment to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals across four broad areas: research, stewardship, outreach, and teaching.
Overall UCC, which was voted global sustainability university of the year in 2023 in the Green Gown Awards, has now been voted 67th in the world for Impact for the same year. UCC’s placing is within the top four per cent of all institutions globally and is seventh in Europe.
UCC scored within the Top 30 in five of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals considered by the ranking. These are:
- SDG 2, Zero Hunger: 20th overall
- SDG 11, Sustainable Cities/ Communities: 30th overall
- SGG 12, Responsible Consumption & Production: 26th overall
- SDG 14, Life Below Water: 29th overall
- SDG 16, Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions: 16th overall
UCC President Professor John O’Halloran welcomed the rankings, stating:
“I am delighted that once again the THE World Impact Ranking has recognised the hard work undertaken by our students and staff towards making UCC a world leader in sustainability.
“Impact is at the heart of everything we do at UCC and central to our strategic plan which we launched in 2023. It proudly states our ambition to explicitly link our teaching and research to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and our consistent strong showings in these annual rankings are proof of our efforts,” he said.
Phil Baty, Times Higher Education’s chief global affairs officer, said: “This year’s Impact Rankings shows universities in Europe are excelling in driving forward and tackling the UN’s sustainable development goals – with some getting full marks in some categories.”
Elsewhere, UCC is ranked 6th in the world by UI Green Metric, a separate independent assessment on the advancement of sustainability.
