The University of Worcester has achieved a top three UK ranking for Quality Education for the third year running, in the prestigious Times Higher Education’s global University Impact Rankings.
Worcester is also ranked top in England, second in the UK and ninth globally for Gender Equality, as well as being eighth in the UK for Zero Hunger in the rankings, which highlight the contribution made by universities around the world to achieving the internationally agreed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which the United Nations adopted in 2016.
A total of 1,115 universities from 94 countries/regions around the world are included in this year’s rankings, with Worcester ranked in the top 20% overall.
Professor David Green CBE, the University’s Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive, said: “At the University of Worcester we combine inclusion with educational excellence and high standards, so we are particularly delighted to be ranked top three for Quality Education for the third year running, whilst simultaneously being in the top 10 globally and second in the UK for Gender Equality.
“Our inclusive approach to education has gained recognition the world over – particularly in inclusive sport. We have been ranked as First Class for a dozen years for environmental sustainability and The Hive, Worcestershire’s unique University and Public Library, and our overall community engagement have made us one of Britain’s outstanding universities for responsible, civic work. We are very pleased that more and more universities around the world are adopting similar approaches. We will all win by universities contributing even more to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the world’s United Nations.”
The University of Worcester was shortlisted for two University of the Year titles last year, recognising its outstanding achievements in creating a high quality, inclusive learning environment, which also led to it winning the Times Higher Education’s inaugural award for Outstanding Contribution to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in November last year.
Worcester was named Sustainability Institution of the Year in the Green Gown Awards 2019 and has a long record of sustainable practice and in 2021 won yet another Green Gown for Total Reporting, In the 2019 People and Planet University League Worcester was awarded First Class Honours – an achievement it has now held for over 10 years.
Worcester has been the best performing university in the UK for Gender Pay since the national publication of this data began, with no statistically significant pay gap between men and women compared to the national average gap of 15.9%.
The THE Impact Rankings launched in 2019 and are the only global rankings to document evidence of universities’ impact on society, rather than just research and teaching performance. This year’s ranking includes tables on all 17 UN SDGs, up from 11 goals last year.