Australian institutions have dominated ����Vlog’s Impact Rankings for the fourth time in five years, claiming three of the top five places in the global assessment of universities’ efforts to meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Western Sydney University was named the world’s most impactful higher education institution, gaining the highest overall score for the fourth consecutive year.

“Western is showing the world the way,” said vice-chancellor George Williams. “We reflect our community and we are part of it. Universities around the world are being urged to return to their primary role as public sector organisations delivering public good.”

Griffith University tied for fourth, up from 24th last year and 72nd in 2023. The University of Tasmania slipped to equal fourth from second in 2024, but topped the individual tables for the SDGs “climate action” and “life on land”.

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Griffith achieved top-10 results in five of the 17 SDGs. “We’re led by our values and prioritise innovation and social impact in our teaching and research,” said Jennifer Boddy, dean of sustainability and rankings. “It’s heartening to see fellow institutions on the same path.”

Of the 24 Australian universities represented in this year’s exercise, 10 ranked within the overall world top 50. Another six made the top 200 in a table of over 2,500 institutions. As in previous years, the table was not dominated by research universities with global brands.

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UNSW Sydney was the only university in the Group of Eight (Go8), top 100 habitués in most league tables, to receive an overall score in this year’s Impact Rankings. Most Go8 members did not submit material for assessment.

Heavyweight research universities elsewhere also steered clear. Of the 20 top institutions in the latest World University Rankings, Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a lone presence in the Impact Rankings, appearing in the 201-300 band.

Angel Calderon, director of strategic insights at RMIT University, said prestigious universities worried about reputational damage if they entered the Impact Rankings and failed to perform well. They were also wary of the rankings’ “volatility”, which he attributed to methodological changes and the variable quality of the data provided by institutions.

Calderon said “improved stability” in the results might encourage more top-flight universities to participate. “Elite and research-intensive universities are likely to do well, since research metrics account for 27 per cent of the score for each SDG,” he said.

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“These assessments equip academics and university leadership with invaluable information to drive improvement. It should be part of a university’s social contract to showcase how they are working towards addressing environmental, social and economic challenges.”

UNSW Sydney ranked fourth in Australia and 11th globally. “We’re very proud…that we submit for this ranking, because we see our value to society as manyfold,” said Verity Firth, vice-president for societal impact, equity and engagement.

“We can compete in rankings [based on] more traditional academic output, but we also know we can compete very successfully [on] the impact of our work. I just don’t think it’s an either-or situation.”

Australia’s neighbours also notched top results in the Impact Rankings. Indonesia’s Universitas Airlangga was rated ninth in the world, up from 81st in 2024. Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang ranked 14th and the University of Auckland 28th.

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Fiji National University and the University of the South Pacific ranked in the 801-1,000 band, while the Papua New Guinea University of Technology debuted in the 1,500-plus band.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com