FAU performs well in international ranking

THE Impact Ranking measures contribution to UN sustainable development goals.

What is required for everyone to benefit from a better future? This is the central question behind the UN’s sustainable development goals. Bearing this in mind, the British educational magazine Times Higher Education (THE) has launched a ranking measuring the contribution made by universities across the globe to these goals. We are pleased to report that FAU has done well in the areas of good health and well-being and energy.

Criteria for the THE Impact Ranking were drawn up on the basis of the 17 economic, social and ecological sustainable development goals of the United Nations in order to allow a comparison and assessment of universities across the globe. Universities were allowed to choose themselves which areas to apply for. FAU entered the international competition for goal 3, good health and well-being, and goal 7, affordable and clean energy.

In the category of health and well-being, FAU is among the top 30 percent of approximately 1100 universities. The University scored highly with a number of initiatives. In research, points in favor of FAU included the Department for Sport Science and Sport and the WHO Collaborating Center for Physical Activity and Public Health. Researchers there have been closely involved in drawing up national recommendations for physical activity. Another example is the BIG project, which encourages women facing difficult circumstances to exercise more. The University also takes an active interest in encouraging the health and well-being of its students and staff, offering a wide range of presentations, seminars and courses on aspects of both physical and mental health over its platform FAUgesund. Together with other relevant stakeholders, FAUgesund is keen to ensure that studying and working conditions at the University are beneficial to the health and well-being of students and staff alike.

In the category of energy, FAU scored particularly well in research, which is not surprising in light of our key research priority in future energy systems that takes an interdisciplinary and detailed approach to the topic. Researchers in this area are working on innovative solutions in a wide range of different disciplines, from photovoltaics and the hydrogen economy to geothermics and electro-mobility, or new materials and processes to energy networks, energy markets and energy systems analysis. Institutions and collaborations such as Energie Campus Nuremberg and the Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg for Renewable Energy, our own Green Office and wide-ranging support for start-ups based on ideas for green technologies are further examples of FAU’s commitment to progress in the field of energy. There is still room for improvement at FAU when it comes to energy consumption per area, however, which is why a number of further energy-saving projects are in the pipeline.

Further information

Dr. Amelie Feder
Data and Management Information
Phone: +49 9131 85 24881
amelie.feder@fau.de