Three universities in the Middle East have been ranked among the world's top 100 higher education institutions for sustainability.
Saudi Arabia's King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals moved up to a joint 81st position in this year's Times Higher Education’s Impact Rankings, from the 201-300 category in 2023.
Al Ain University in the UAE jumped from the 101-200 category to share the 92nd spot with the University of Bristol in the UK. Saudi Arabia's King Faisal University moved up to 99 from the 101-200 band last year.
Now, in its sixth year, the study assessed 2,152 universities from 125 countries.
They were measured on their contributions to the United Nation’s sustainable development goals (SDG), and assessed on their commitment to sustainability across four areas – research, stewardship, outreach and teaching.
Universities in the Arab region also showed remarkable progress in sustainability indicators that focused on climate action, gender equality, zero hunger, quality education, and clean water and sanitation, among others.
Al Ain University was placed fifth for gender equality, while Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST) in Egypt got the 38th spot for climate action, and Jordan University of Science and Technology came 13th for good health and well-being.
“It’s humbling to see the immense strides higher education in the Arab region has taken in research, collaboration and teaching to tackle the planet’s most pressing issues,” said Phil Baty, Times Higher Education’s chief global affairs officer.
“There are some real standout achievements from universities in the region, most notably from Saudi Arabia, featuring the highest in seven of the 17 goals and in the top 100 in the overall category.
“Algeria’s 450 per cent increase in representation is extraordinary and we hope this will be a catalyst for many more participating universities in the region too.
“Jordan and Egypt have done particularly well in the individual SDGs as well as having universities in the top 300 overall.”
UAE universities move up the ranks
With a focus on lifelong learning and gender equality, UAE’s top universities have climbed the rankings.
“There are Arab universities among the top 10 for quite a lot of the sustainable development goals because they work on it more comprehensively,” said Ellie Bothwell, global rankings editor at Times Higher Education.
The country's top two universities – Al Ain University and UAE University – are really strong at SDG four, which is quality education.
Ms Bothwell explained that it “does not measure the quality of education at those universities but focuses on the contribution of universities to early years and lifelong learning”.
“I think it's interesting that both universities are really strong in quality education and particularly good at lifelong learning and education outreach beyond the campuses, but also in terms of research publications on education.
“They had a high share of graduates with teaching qualifications as well.
“Al Ain University is also particularly strong at gender equality, and is getting stronger at that, particularly when it comes to the share of senior female academics, tracking women's graduation rates [and] childcare facilities for students and staff.”
Australia and UK dominate top 10 spots
With four universities, Australia becomes the country with the highest number in the top 10 of the overall category, while the UK dominates the top 100 in the overall category with 25 universities.
Western Sydney University retains its position for the third year in a row as the world’s highest-ranked university in the overall category.
Meanwhile, the University of Manchester and the University of Tasmania were joint number two.
“From an Australian point of view, we should remember that these universities are at the face of a lot of huge challenges around sustainable development,” said Ms Bothwell.
With the country facing horrific bushfires, floods and droughts, it is only natural that “they are more attuned to the problems and concerns around climate change” and it “does then have an impact on how their universities respond to the call for sustainable development”.
“I think the government is doing work on this area and this drives universities forward, and vice versa.”
She added that universities in Australia and the UK are good at recognising that a key way to serve their societies is by addressing the big global problems.
With 105 universities, India has the most universities in the ranking, while Africa also stands out in terms of increased participation, and also its performance.
The African continent has 230 universities ranked in all the impact tables this year, up from 106 last year.
