Worldwide, the UC appears in 21st position in this global classification, which is led by the University of Manchester, according to the third edition of the ranking "The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2021".

This initiative of the British specialist publication "The Times Higher Education" analyses the "global success" of universities in meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

"With a total 'score' of 92.7 out of 100, the UC was the institution with the best overall performance in Portugal in meeting the SDGs," the higher education institution said in a statement.

For the rector of the University, Amílcar Falcão, the results obtained "are a source of pride and encouragement, but they are as encouraging as they are challenging because there is much more ground to cover than has already been covered".

"Creating social awareness, setting an example and joining forces are fundamental for collective goals to be achieved, involving our students for whom tomorrow will be the world they will have to live in", says Amílcar Falcão, quoted in the note.

It was in the fulfilment of SDG 2, "Eradicate hunger", that the University of Coimbra achieved "a better classification, being considered the third best university in the world in meeting this goal".

"The strategy to combat food waste, the existence of the social meal (which represented 74 percent of the meals sold in 2019), the provision of food baskets by the Social Action Services to university hostels at affordable prices (more than 31 tonnes and 7.5 thousand litres of food), or the initiatives with local producers for the disposal of products, are some of the reasons that justify this classification at a global level," explains the UC.

Also of note are the research projects of the oldest Portuguese university and its participation in consortiums working to research solutions for the agri-food sector.

This is the case of Mobfood, a research and technological development project that brings together various agents in the agri-food sector to "promote a more competitive national food industry", as well as Reseed, which studies the socio-economic and ecological impact of the spread in Europe of food products from other continents since the 18th century.

The University of Coimbra also stands out in the fulfilment of United Nations goal 9, "Industry, innovation and infrastructures", with the 13th position worldwide.

"Fundamental to this result was the number of 'spin-offs' created (121), the number of active patents (304) and the work developed by the Pedro Nunes Institute, a private non-profit institution created by the UC, whose incubator supported 330 companies, created 2,600 highly qualified jobs and generated an annual average of 190 million Euros in turnover," according to the note.

Also under this SDG, the UC affirms itself in initiatives such as "Energy for sustainability (EfS)", a response to challenges in the area of energy and sustainable development, or the consortium "Ageing Coimbra", which aims to facilitate "the genesis of innovative projects in the area of active and healthy aging that also intends to be a stimulator of the economy and young entrepreneurship around health services".

In the goals in which the UC obtained a better performance, is also the SDG 3, "Quality Health", with the 44th place worldwide.

In total, the "The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings" accounts for 18 rankings, one by SDG and one globally.

The University of Coimbra is in the world "top 100" in nine of the 17 sustainable development goals.