Australian and Canadian universities dominate the top 20 THE Global Impact Rankings

Times Higher Education recently published its 2024 Impact Rankings, identifying and celebrating universities that excel across multiple United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The ranking evaluated 2,152 institutions from 125 countries, against their performance on specific SDGs, and particularly against the Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17), which refers to institutions’ efforts in fostering robust international partnerships and cooperation for achieving all SDGs.

The key takeaways from the THE report are:

Certain countries are beacons of excellence in specific areas:

• Germany is a story of industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9), thanks to its strong tradition of technically oriented universities and numerous engineering institutes. It also has a longstanding history of collaborative research with industry partners. Germany is particularly strong at growing spin-offs, from teaching about the process and offering coaching and consulting, to providing nationally and internationally oriented accelerator programs.
• United Kingdom dominates SDG 12 – responsible consumption and production. UK universities are sustainability warriors on waste, supply chain, carbon emissions reduction and the circular economy, and they lead sustainability initiatives in their communities and beyond. They recognize the importance of having senior leadership embed sustainability in the university strategy, and being meticulous about setting targets, tracking progress with data, and reporting it.
• South Korea tops the table in decent work and economic growth (SDG 8). As the trend of precarious employment is the new way in higher education, South Korean universities have some of the highest proportion of staff on secure contracts. They also performed well in their economic research, their employment practices, their expenditure per employee and the share of students taking work placements.
• Australia leads the way in clean water and sanitation (SDG 6). In a region dominated by extreme weather leading to water scarcity or flooding, Australian universities excel at industry and government partnerships to advance research and impactful initiatives in this field. Examples include water consumption, care and recycling on university campuses, community-led approaches in multidisciplinary teams and working with local indigenous communities. Australian institutions also contribute to improving water management across the whole Asia-Pacific regions.

Some countries focus on sustainability goals more than others

Looking at the provenance of the institutions in the top 20 or even top 50, Australia clearly stands out as punching above its weight when it comes to sustainable development impact. It has 12% of its higher education institutions in the top 20, and 17% in top 50. Canadian institutions are also well represented, with 5 institutions in top 20, and 9 in top 50, although this represents 5% and respectively 8.8% of the total number.

The glaring absence of American institutions stands out among many stories of improvements. Only 2 US institutions make the top 20, AND the top 50, the same number as Thailand and Hong Kong, and fewer than South Korea.

Why is sustainability impact important for universities?

Universities have always played a key role in advancing thinking, forming national conscience and identity, and fostering expertise in specific disciplines. Their role throughout history has evolved and has become somewhat blurry over the last few decades, but the most prestigious and successful institutions are the ones that remained loyal to their core purpose.

Today, as our societies are divided by polarization and the rise of extremism, universities are especially important to remind us about the benefits of collaboration, global cooperation, and talent mobility. Universities provide cutting-edge research, high quality education, and ground-breaking innovation, making them key contributors in achieving the sustainable development goals (SDG 4 and 9). Strong universities are an important part of civil society (SDG 16), and they are excellent promotors of global and local partnerships (SDG 17).

Universities guide students in developing the rigorous scientific mindset and spirit of curiosity and entrepreneurship needed to produce the solutions required for sustainable development. University researchers, teachers and students work in partnership with citizens and the private and the public sector, co-creating knowledge that can produce solutions, facilitating social, environmental, and economic development.

At a time when the relevance and value of higher education is being questioned, and many institutions struggle to stay afloat, consolidating this position as the bedrock of innovation and societal progress seems to be the recipe for success.

In the global race to attract and retain students, universities need to prove they are committed to creating a positive impact on the matters that are important to them, which can be found across all the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Today’s students and the next generation are acutely aware of the urgency to intervene in mitigating and reversing the effects of climate change, political conflict, and inequality, and take their personal and collective impact seriously. They are already protesting on university campuses against the Israel-Palestine conflict and are pushing universities to exert their financial and intellectual power within and beyond the walls of their campuses.

To attract and retain students, universities are increasingly expected to provide practical skills and deep knowledge, developed, and applied on initiatives that matter to them. Technology will continue to play a key role in solving these complex issues, and universities are ideally placed at the intersection of expertise, experience, and experimentation.

Future student generations will increasingly be actively engaged in creating positive impact, and many will work in this sector in the future Gen Alpha: Entering a World of Work Reshaped by Tech and Social Conscience - US Insider. According to a survey by Fast Company, a significant portion of Gen Alpha aspires towards careers that make a positive impact – doctors, teachers, environmental scientists.

This focus on purpose-driven careers extends beyond traditional fields. We might see a rise in “green jobs” focused on sustainability and renewable energy. The creator economy, already booming, could see an explosion of Gen Alpha entrepreneurs building businesses with a social conscience.

How AppsAnywhere supports sustainable impact development

At AppsAnywhere, we are often humble about our credentials and achievements. We know there is always so much more we can do and achieve, and the US Sustainable Development Goals are closely aligned to our values as individuals and as a business. As a small business, our global sustainability impact is huge, and is amplified with each university and college we support:

Climate action (CO2 emissions)

We enable remote learning for students and remote working for staff. By using our software delivery and management platform, our customers have saved thousands of dollars and CO2 kilograms.

Responsible energy consumption

We contribute to higher education institutions’ efforts to reduce their energy consumption and electronic waste, by replacing most of their high performing desktops with more energy efficient laptops. AppsAnywhere reduces the wear and tear on hardware and can extend its lifespan by years.

IT infrastructure, both onsite and remote, contributes significantly to institutions’ carbon footprint, and we play a key role in reducing those outputs. This is particularly important, as 88% of the sector’s 18.1 million tons of CO2 emissions come from the value chain, which includes technology.

Innovation and infrastructure

AppsAnywhere supports collaboration and cooperation within universities and beyond. We help build digital infrastructures that allow researchers, students, and private entities across the world to bring together their expertise and collaborate to solve complex problems. This ability to collaborate globally was vital in developing the COVID vaccine, with universities across the world playing a key role in working around the clock to develop and test different theories.

Reduce poverty and foster prosperity

Being able to access their education tools and knowledge on any device, in any location, can save many students from living in poverty or becoming homeless, particularly in the current global housing crisis. They no longer need to be physically present to attend classes on campus or access software in computer labs. They can do that from home, on their personal device, whilst combining work with education. They no longer need to invest in expensive computers to deal with heavy locally installed applications, they can do that on their existing devices.

Reduced inequalities

Our brand is built on equity: we value our impact of education, building prosperity by supporting individuals’ success and that of the wider communities. Our platform allows universities to expand their positive impact on the people who need education more than anyone to succeed in life and opens a whole new pool of talent that was previously not engaged.

Quality education

Education will increasingly rely on the support of digital tools, and our ability to bring together all applications in a centralized platform, where students and faculty can access them seamlessly will help modernize teaching and learning.

The Sustainability Impact Rankings are an important way to encourage progress in these key development areas, and it’s great to see so many of our customers feature in this list. We look forward to continuing to support the higher education sector in its endeavors to advance progress towards more sustainable futures.

To find out more about how AppsAnywhere can help your institution’s progress towards Net Zero or other key impact areas, get in touch!

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