Dresden University of Technology: World leader in the 2025 sustainability ranking!

Dresden University of Technology: World leader in the 2025 sustainability ranking!

The Technical University of Dresden (TUD) has once again achieved an impressive performance in the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings 2025. With 100 out of 100 points in the “Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure” category, it not only takes first place in the area of ​​Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but is also one of only eleven universities worldwide that have achieved the maximum number of points. Out of a total of 1,156 institutions evaluated, this high rating shows the strategic orientation of the TUD to promote knowledge and technology transfer, which according to tu-dresden.de contributed significantly to the improvement of the institution.

The results of the ranking were announced on June 17, 2025 during the Global Sustainable Development Congress (GSDC) in Istanbul. As part of the conference, Dr. André Lindner from TUD was invited to speak in a panel discussion about various challenges and best practices of sustainable educational institutions. The TUD sustainability strategy was also presented by Maike Heitkamp-Mai, who presented the activities of the University Culture Department.

Significance of the rankings for German universities

The THE Impact Ranking includes 2,526 universities from 130 countries and is an important tool for assessing progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Loud timeshighereducation.com These rankings identify institutions that demonstrate comprehensive excellence in global sustainable development. This year, Western Sydney University took first place in the overall ranking for the fourth year in a row, followed by Indonesia's Universitas Airlangga, which came joint ninth, making it the most sustainable institution from an emerging economy.

Asian universities dominate the rankings, accounting for more than half of the places and topping 10 of 17 individual SDG rankings. In addition, eight countries, including Burkina Faso and Papua New Guinea, made their debut in the sustainability rankings this year. These results reflect the growing commitment to the environment, social inclusion and economic growth.

Strategic support from the University Rectors' Conference

In order to strengthen the international visibility of German universities, the “International University Rankings” service project was launched by the University Rectors’ Conference (HRK) on February 1, 2019. This project aims to improve the international positioning of the German university system and increase its attractiveness as a science location. Advice and networking measures are intended to make it easier for universities to handle the data required by ranking providers. hrk.de reports that the project is financed by the Federal Foreign Office and is being carried out with the support of the Technical University of Dresden and the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen.

TUD's successes in the current ranking are not only proof of the high quality of research and teaching, but also a result of the diverse measures to improve transfer, start-up funding and industrial cooperation. With the recently announced new cooperation with the “UNU Hub on Climate Resilience and Sustainable Technologies (CREST)”, the university will also establish an international interface for climate resilience and sustainable technologies and further consolidate its outstanding position.