Times Higher Education (THE) rankings are among the world's most prestigious university rankings. The THE Impact Rankings rate universities based on how well they promote the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. In the 2024 THE Impact Rankings, LUT again reached the top 101–200.
The comparison included a total of 1 963 universities. LUT maintained its position even though the number of universities in the ranking rose by nearly 400. Of the seven Finnish universities included in the Impact Rankings, LUT and the University of Helsinki tied for the first place.
"LUT is one of the top universities in Finland and in the world. Our strategy, focused on clean energy, water, air, and sustainable business and a sustainable society, yields positive results," says Jari Hämäläinen, LUT's vice rector for research and innovation.
Global top 100 in three Sustainable Development Goals
The UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development contains 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to promote the well-being of humans, the environment, and the economy. LUT was assessed regarding seven SDGs.
In the assessments per SDG, LUT University is in the top 100 in terms of three goals: climate action (SDG13), responsible consumption and production (SDG12) and partnerships for the goals (SDG17). In climate action, LUT climbed to the global top 10 and continued on the path familiar from recent years: the university placed 26th in 2023 and ninth in 2022.
“Our high ranking in climate action shows that LUT is genuinely committed to tackling climate change and providing solutions to one of humanity's greatest challenges,” Hämäläinen assesses.
LUT is one of the top universities in Finland and in the world.
The ranking also indicates that LUT has promoted partnerships for the goals (SDG 17) especially well, rising to the global top 40 – a significant improvement from last year’s top 300 position. Lately, LUT has established a new partnership with Clare Hall of the University of Cambridge and continued to build a new European university EULiST with nine other European universities. LUT also embraces research collaboration with businesses.
“Partnerships play a crucial role in LUT’s future success. I’m delighted that our consistent work shows in the rankings”, Hämäläinen says.
LUT was also assessed in the industry, innovations and infrastructure goal (SDG 9), where the score improved. In addition, LUT’s ranking for decent work and economic growth (SDG 8) moved up from 201–300 to 101–200. According to Hämäläinen, the success might be partly due to the quality of LUT Business School’s research, which was ranked second in the world in the latest THE subject rankings.
Overall, the quality and impact of LUT's research improved their marks across all the SDGs above.
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