Massey University Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa recognised for commitment to Sustainable Development Goals

The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings measure global universities’ success in delivering the United Nations’ 17 SDGs.

The results, out today, show Massey is 66th in the world across the 17 goals, with a standout success coming in SDG11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities, where the university ranked seventh in the world for its practices and research on sustainability. Massey also has the second highest number of SDGs ranked in the top 50 of all New Zealand universities.

Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Giselle Byrnes says she is pleased with the results and with Massey’s commitment to supporting the SDGs. “During the development of our new strategy last year, it was clear that our staff, students and stakeholders wanted to see more action from the university in areas like sustainability, civic leadership and engagement, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals provide us with a robust framework to work towards these goals, and benchmark our contributions to Aotearoa New Zealand and the world.”

Massey scored a number one placing across New Zealand universities for SDG11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities. It also scored four number two placings, for SDG1 - No Poverty, SDG2 - Zero Hunger, SDG6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, and SDG9 - Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.

The number of participating universities has increased substantially year on year, which generates movement in ranking positions. In 2020, 768 universities from 85 countries participated in the Impact Rankings, which increased to 1240 universities from 98 countries in 2021. This year, 1524 universities from 110 countries and regions participated in the rankings.

Massey launched Australasia’s first Master of Sustainable Development Goals in 2020, which focuses on the theory and practice of the United Nations’ SDGs.

Results for Massey University Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa

What are the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings?

The Impact Rankings are the only global performance tables that assess universities against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Results are based on carefully-calibrated indicators to provide comprehensive and balanced comparisons across four broad areas: research, stewardship, outreach and teaching.

Which SDGs are included?

There are 17 UN SDGs and Times Higher Education has evaluated university performance on all of them in their fourth edition of the ranking.

How is the overall ranking created?

A university’s final score in the overall table is calculated by combining its score in SDG 17 with its top three scores out of the remaining 16 SDGs. SDG 17 accounts for 22 per cent of the overall score, while the other SDGs each carry a weight of 26 per cent. This means that different universities are scored based on a different set of SDGs, depending on their focus.

Read more about the 2022 Times Higher Education Impact rankings here.

Click here to find out more about the UN Sustainable Development Goals.