QS Sustainability: the University of Padua first in Italy and in the top 100 universities in the world
On Wednesday, 26 October, the international agency QS presented the resultsof the first edition of the QS Sustainability rankingof theworld’s universities, institutions that, through research, teaching and connections with the territory, have the potential to drive and accelerate the necessary change in terms of environment, society and governance (ESG, Environment Social Governance),for sustainable development. The ranking was conducted by QS, in collaboration with Elsevier, Yale University and the Academic Freedom Index, further selecting the universities already analysed by the QS WUR ranking on the basis of public and recognised evidence of a sustainability policy conducted by the university and of a widespread and high-level culture of participation in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which can be deduced from the bibliometrics of excellence.
Only 700 universities worldwide and only 31 national ones were selected and analysed according to two indicators of social and environmental impact. The University of Padua ranked 61st in the world and first in Italy.
“This is an excellent result that makes us proud,” commentsDaniela Mapelli, Rector of the University of Padua. “Pursuing social, environmental and economic sustainability goals is a fundamental objective to consolidate our university as a responsible, fair and supportive university.
Two different focuses were considered in the development of the QS Sustainability Ranking:social impactandenvironmental impact.
Withinsocial impact, the following indicators are valued: the Institutions’ ability to provide sound career preparation and the University’s reputation in the world of work (Employment & Opportunities); gender equality and disability support policies (Equality); the impact of research in the SDGs concerning the fight against poverty and hunger (SDGs 1 and 2), health and well-being of living beings (SDG3) and drinking water and sanitation (SDG6), together with the documentation of welfare policies implemented on Campus (Life Quality). A fourth indicator assesses the impact on SDG4 (Impact of Education), i.e. how much the University produces to make education more inclusive and equitable, how much it promotes lifelong learning and reputation in the social sciences and arts. Finally, a fifth indicator assesses how institutions collaborate in the dissemination of knowledge in less developed countries and thus how they participate in raising standards worldwide (Knowledge Exchange).
With regard toenvironmentalimpact, a first indicator assesses how institutions offer tools and methodologies to their students to be protagonists in sustainability, but not limited to environmental sciences (Sustainable Education). ). A second indicator assesses the institution’s strategies and operations towards an environmentally sustainable future (Sustainable Institutions). ). Finally, the third Environmental Impact indicator assesses the impact of research conducted on the other UN SDGs: 7, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 (Sustainable Research).
The University of Padua ranks89th worldwideon the Sustainable Education indicator and85th worldwide on the Sustainable Institution indicator. On Social Impact, the University of Padua also performs well: it occupies 118th position worldwidein the Quality of Life indicator and124th positionin the Equality indicator.
More detailed methodological information is available at:https://support.qs.com/hc/en-gb/articles/6107352412828.