Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) reaffirms its commitment to supporting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a global development agenda aimed at ending poverty, improving well-being, and protecting the planet, with 17 goals to be achieved by 2030.
In the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings 2025, officially announced on Wednesday, Jun. 18, 2025, UGM achieved a remarkable milestone by securing the 6th position globally in the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1: No Poverty category, out of 1,267 institutions evaluated worldwide.
UGM Vice-Rector for Education and Teaching, Professor Wening Udasmoro, stated that the university’s achievement of ranking 6th globally for SDG 1 reflects its continued efforts to support poverty eradication.
According to Vice-Rector Udasmoro, this recognition is especially meaningful, given UGM’s consistent placement within the world’s Top 20 for this SDG since 2021.
“This year, UGM succeeded in entering the global top 10, which further reflects the university’s sustained commitment to implementing SDG 1, particularly through community empowerment programs aimed at alleviating poverty via education, applied research, and community service,” said Professor Udasmoro on Wednesday, Jun. 18, 2025.
In addition to the significant achievement in SDG 1, Vice-Rector Udasmoro noted that UGM also demonstrated outstanding performance across five other SDG categories in this year’s rankings.
For SDG 2: Zero Hunger, UGM ranked 52nd globally out of 955 institutions, an improvement from the previous year that reflects the university’s serious efforts to strengthen food security, advance sustainable agriculture, and develop food systems through interdisciplinary research.
Progress was also evident in SDG 5: Gender Equality, where UGM ranked 82nd out of 1,599 institutions.
“This achievement reflects rapid progress in implementing inclusive policies, empowering women, and cultivating a campus culture that promotes gender equality,” she explained.
Furthermore, Professor Udasmoro added that UGM maintained its consistent standing in SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy, ranking 54th out of 1,181 institutions.
Since 2020, UGM has remained in the global Top 100 for this SDG, thanks to various energy-efficiency initiatives, the development of environmentally friendly infrastructure, and its active contributions to clean energy solutions for communities and industries.
UGM also saw significant advancement in SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, placing 31st out of 1,350 institutions.
This achievement reflects the university’s commitment to ensuring decent work opportunities, equal rights, workforce empowerment, and fair, non-discriminatory institutional practices.
In SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, UGM ranked 79th out of 1,156 institutions.
This performance highlights UGM’s active role in building an innovation ecosystem through strategic industry partnerships and the development of research-based enterprises.
Overall, UGM ranked 82nd globally out of 2,318 universities assessed in the THE Impact Rankings 2025.
The rankings are based on institutional data and bibliometric analysis from Elsevier, with participating universities required to submit data for at least four SDGs, including SDG 17 as a mandatory component.
According to Vice-Rector Udasmoro, this achievement reflects the collaboration and shared efforts of all elements within UGM, which consistently align their strategic direction with the principles of equitable, inclusive, and sustainable development.
“With a spirit of collaboration, UGM’s contributions to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals will continue to be strengthened and expanded in the future,” she concluded.
Author: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Lintang Andwyna