Finding long-term solutions is the most crucial step in tackling environmental, socioeconomic, and governance concerns. One of the top universities in Africa for addressing important social, political, and environmental concerns is North-West University (NWU).
This is in line with the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) agency’s most recent Sustainability ranking, which ranks the NWU among the top eight of 43 universities throughout the continent. The university is placed 458th overall out of the 1,403 institutions that qualified for the ranking internationally, and among the top six of the twelve South African universities.
For a university to be eligible for the Sustainability rating, it must be included in the QS World University Rankings, QS Rankings by Region, or QS Rankings by Subject, according to QS.
Given that there were 703 more universities included in the rankings this year, the NWU’s achievement is particularly noteworthy. The university was nevertheless able to move up the rating in spite of this.
QS has been utilizing environmental and social sustainability measuring metrics to compare universities for the past two years. The rankings were made public on December 5th.
Strongest performances are identified through lenses.
Environmental impact, social effect, and governance are the three performance lenses that are used in each of the three areas. To determine a score, each performance lens is composed of distinct indications.
Knowledge exchange has the greatest social influence at NWU, whereas environmental research is the strongest lens for environmental impact. In the governance category, the university scored 124.
Environmental education, environmental sustainability, and environmental research are all included in the environmental impact lens.
Knowledge sharing, equality, health and well-being, the influence of education on employability, and results are all covered under the social impact lens.
Principal and vice-chancellor Dr. Bismark Tyobeka notes that while the QS World University Rankings for Sustainability highlight the university’s strengths, they also indicate the areas that the campus community should concentrate on in order to meet the goals established by the UN Sustainable Goals*.
*There will be no poverty, hunger, good health, and well-being; quality education; gender equality; clean water and sanitation; affordable and clean energy; decent work and economic growth; industry, innovation, and infrastructure; reduced inequality; sustainable cities and communities; climate action; life below water; life on land; peace, justice, and strong institutions; and partnerships for the goals are the 17 sustainability goals set forth by the United Nations.
