University of Haifa has seen its ranking on the renowned Times Higher Education Impact Rankings skyrocket 100 places as Israel’s sole representative on the global survey evaluating institutions and their work toward meeting the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Published last week, the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings are the most reputable global performance tables that assess universities against the United Nations’ SDGs, dedicated to eliminating poverty, hunger, and discrimination.
“The 2022 ranking reflects the current state of University of Haifa — an institution that cares deeply about humanity; a university that doesn’t bask in its ivory tower but rather surrounds itself with both local and global issues that deeply affect the world,” said University of Haifa President Prof. Ron Robin.
The Impact Rankings are based on 17 SDGs to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all by 2030. The criteria seek to provide a comprehensive strategy to tackle the world’s greatest challenges and include eliminating poverty and hunger, providing quality education, affordable and clean energy, supporting biodiversity both in the sea and on land, promoting gender equality, and more. The final ranking is gauged by the quality of research each university invests in these criteria. Thus, the index gives a snapshot of how each university is faring in tackling humanity’s most pressing issues. “We use carefully calibrated indicators to provide comprehensive and balanced comparison across four broad areas: research, stewardship, outreach and teaching,” the publication said of its survey which evaluated 1,406 universities from 106 countries.
A closer look at how University of Haifa scored in terms of individual rankings on the Times Higher Education Impact Index reveals the school’s formidable showing around the world, ranking 48th in the world for SDG #4, “Quality Education;” 55th for SDG #5, “Gender Equality;" 84th for SDG #3, “Good Health and Well-being;” and 68th for SDG #8, “Decent Work and Economic Growth.”
Home to 18,000 students, University of Haifa prides itself on the rich diversity of its student body and welcomes international students from around the world, as well as domestic students from Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Baha’i, Druze, Bedouin and other backgrounds. This was reflected in the rankings, with the University acknowledged in 95th place worldwide for SDG #10, “Reducing Inequalities.” The University also ranked in 98th place for SDG #14, “Life Below Water,” thanks in large part to its Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, which, in leveraging the vast re-search potential of the Mediterranean Sea, has become both a national and global leader in the battle to combat climate change.
The significant rise in rankings in 2022 reflects the University of Haifa recent strides to achieve these U.N. recommended goals, including investing NIS 400,000 in research and coursework that promotes sustainable development values. “The upgraded ranking is no coincidence as it reflects the University’s strategic effort to incorporate SDGs and support research that fosters a more sustainable world,” University of Haifa Rector, Gur Alroey added.
