A greater awareness of environmental and social sustainability issues is leading to growing expectations on universities to take action and embrace their potential as catalysts for change.
By working together within the sector and with governments and industries, universities must harness their position in supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and work towards a more sustainable, equitable and just future.
A new report from QS, Shaping Sustainable Futures: Students, Universities and Green Skills, explores the landscape of sustainability in higher education – from student perspectives to building a sustainable reputation and the future of green talent and skills.
For many students, a sustainable university matters more than a high ranking
Increasingly driven by environmental and social consciousness, students are aligning their values for a greener, fairer future with their educational decision-making. Almost half of prospective students say they would prefer to study at a sustainable university over a top 100 ranked institution (QS World University Rankings).
This highlights an opportunity for universities to amplify their sustainability credentials and ensure that sustainability initiatives feature in recruitment activities as part of your core offering.
Showcase your institution’s commitment to sustainability through clear policies, initiatives, and programmes aligned with the UN’s SDGs. Forge partnerships with businesses, governments, and organisations to provide students with internships, research opportunities, and real-world experiences in global sustainability efforts.
“The university I applied to implemented environmental and sustainable action towards the programmes, which shows a commitment to a better future.” – A student from Indonesia
There is a positive connection between sustainability outputs and academic reputation
Data from the QS World University Rankings shows that universities with strong scores in the Academic Reputation metric tend to perform well in the Sustainability metric.
Measuring sustainability performance and understanding where your uniqueness lies can enable you to identify the areas where you can have the greatest impact. Use sustainability to differentiate your institution globally, leveraging rankings to measure success and showcase leadership. Collaboration will be key to expand sustainability efforts, share best practices, and drive positive change locally and globally.
The need for green skills in today’s job market has grown threefold
Since 2017, employers have been increasingly looking for green skills in the global labour market (QS 1Mentor). Green skills are most in-demand across the ‘big four’ destinations, and India, where the country’s National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 aims to integrate green skills into educational programmes to promote sustainability.
Universities must move towards embedding green skills and sustainability competencies into the curriculum to prepare graduates for emerging environmental and social challenges. Collaborate with industry leaders to align curricula with future green economy needs, offering students practical experience through internships, projects, and work placements in sustainability-focused roles.
From adapting your infrastructure to updating your curriculum, tracking your progress and communicating your sustainability mission and QS is here every step of the way.
- Understand your impact with performance evaluations and benchmarking
- Improve your efforts with portfolio optimisation, collaborations and partnerships
- Communicate and celebrate your success
