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Shortly after the University of Johannesburg (UJ) was announced as the top producer of research outputs in South Africa, the institution has now come out tops for the global goal of No Poverty.

According to the latest 2023 Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings, released on Thursday, 1 June 2023, the University is ranked overall among the top 50 universities worldwide, at global position 46, and has clinched the first spot in the world for the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of No Poverty.

No Poverty focuses on universities’ research on poverty and their support for poor students and citizens in their local communities.

In the 17 individual SDG rankings, UJ climbed two places from third position (SDG: No Poverty) the previous year. 

UJ also ranked in the global top 10 for another SDG, claiming sixth place in the world for SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, an improvement of two places on eighth position the previous year.

A record 1 707 institutions from around the world submitted data and evidence to participate in the 2023 iteration, the fifth instalment, of the THE Impact Rankings, which are the first to measure the progress of universities across the globe towards the 17 UN SDGs. The rankings recognise and shine a spotlight on universities for their commitment and contribution to sustainability, societal impact and innovation.

“It is gratifying to see that our University has once again been recognised highly for its significant contribution to societal impact, sustainability and innovation, through the SDGs. We are very proud of this achievement and excited to see even more outputs from our scholars in the near future. This is testament to the outstanding work and dedication of our staff, postdoctoral fellows, students, research associates, research divisions, centres and institutes,” says Professor Letlhokwa Mpedi, UJ Vice-Chancellor and Principal.

UJ has placed in the overall ranking, for the fourth time, at position 46 in the world, out of the 1 591 ranked universities, improving its global ranking yet again by climbing 23 places from 69 the previous year. UJ continues to be the leading university on the continent and in the country, ranked first in Africa and South Africa (of the nine universities in the country that participated).

Adds Prof Mpedi: “The University will continue to support and strengthen research around Global Excellence and Stature (GES), the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0), but this time, with an even greater emphasis on research for societal impact, thus, GES 4.0 – for Societal Impact. A special thanks and gratitude to all the institutions (sponsors and funders – national, regional and international) who invest in our research endeavours; we could not have done this without them.”

Overall, UJ ranked in the top 100 universities in the world for seven SDGs, including the two in the global top ten above. The other five SDGs ranked in the global top 100 are:

•   #17 for SDG 5: Gender Equality – up 23 places from #40
•   #40 for SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – up 9 places from #49
•   #44 for SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – up 24 places from #68
•   #55 for SDG 4: Quality Education
•   #93 for SDG 2: Zero Hunger – up 2 places from #95

View and explore the complete THE Impact Rankings 2023 results tables here and read the press release here.

Find out more about the THE Impact Rankings 2023 methodology here.

Submitted by the University of Johannesburg