Ranking #1 in Cyprus and Greece and Top 15 in the EU in this core area in the expanded 2021 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, which recognises universities across the world for their social and economic impact.
The 2021 Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings, released on 21 April 2021, rank the University of Nicosia (UNIC) as the number 32 university in the world in the area of Quality Education, and among the Top 401-600 universities globally in terms of its overall social and economic impact. Correspondingly, this places UNIC as the #1 ranked university in Cyprus and Greece, and among the Top 15 universities in the European Union, in this core area.
The Impact Rankings is gaining prominence as the only ranking to measure university progress specifically around the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The third edition features an expanded field of more than 1,200 universities from 94 countries and regions, including strong representation by the UK, the USA, Japan, Australia, and the Russian Federation.
“The UN’s SDGs provide a pathway for action that we promulgate across our research and teaching activities”, noted Professor Dimitris Drikakis, UNIC’s Vice President for Global Partnerships and Executive Director of Research and Innovation. “The recent Impact Rankings results reflect our commitment to the SDGs, particularly in respect to education”, continued Professor Drikakis.
Continuing in that vein, the Senior Vice Rector, Professor Constantinos Phellas, underlined the critical action the SDGs stimulate in varied and essential areas for humanity and the planet. “We are delighted to heed this call to action on the most pressing societal challenges and opportunities we are all communally facing, as part of a growing community of universities enacting a much-needed agenda for global change”, remarked Professor Phellas.
UNIC’s status as an agent of positive change is reflected in its multifaceted University Social Responsibility (USR) campaigns and initiatives, which include scholarship programmes for refugees and immigrants in collaboration with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), an award-winning Youth Guidance Programme for children from underprivileged families, and signing on to CSR Europe’s New Deal for sustainable growth and inclusive prosperity. Such activities tie in with and reinforce the University’s related results in the area of Reducing Inequalities (SDG10), and in the area of Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG11), the latter of which goes hand in hand with the development of UNIC City, the University’s constantly evolving campus.
Commenting on the newly-released THE Impact Rankings, the Rector, Professor Philippos Pouyioutas, underscored the University’s impressive position in the top 40 universities globally in the area of Quality Education (SDG4). “Advancing in the rankings in this core area, from #42 in 2020 to #32 in 2021, attests to our commitment and efforts towards offering inclusive quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all. Perhaps more importantly, beyond the rankings per se, we are proud and pleased to see the tangible impact we are making in transforming our world into a better, more inclusive, and peaceful place, in line with the broader Sustainable Development Goals”, concluded Rector Pouyioutas.
The Impact Rankings results are the latest in a succession of recent distinctions bestowed on UNIC by Times Higher Education, possibly the best-known university rankings agency in the world. Indicatively, the flagship THE World University Rankings (WUR) for 2021 rank UNIC among the Top 801-1000 universities in the world. Along with its inclusion in the Top 1000 THE WUR table, UNIC was recognised by the 2021 THE Emerging Economies Rankings (Top 201-250 universities in the countries or regions classified by the London Stock Exchange’s FTSE Group as “Emerging”) and the 2021 THE WUR by Subject (#1 in Cyprus and Greece, Top 100 in the EU, and Top 301-400 universities in the world in Business and Economics).