A university
for the world
Our commitment to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals
For 575 years the University of Glasgow has been changing the world and improving lives. From pioneering discoveries and innovations that have transformed society, to educating generations of graduates who have gone on to make a difference in our communities, our history reflects a longstanding commitment to advancing knowledge and improving lives.
Today, we continue that tradition with confidence and purpose. Through our world leading research, inspiring education and commitment to innovation, we are helping to address some of the most pressing challenges facing society. At the same time, we are investing in our future. The transformation of our estate, including around £1.5 billion of investment in recent years, is creating new opportunities for collaboration, discovery and learning ensuring we remain a university equipped to meet the needs of future generations.
Education remains one of the most powerful drivers of social mobility and opportunity. Yet we know that tackling inequality requires more than education alone. Deep-rooted challenges such as poor health, socioeconomic disadvantage, discrimination and environmental change demand collective action and sustained commitment. Universities have a unique responsibility not only to generate knowledge but to apply it in ways that improve lives and create long lasting societal benefit.
Our commitment begins here in Glasgow. As a civic university, we are deeply connected to our city and region, working with partners to support inclusive economic growth, strengthen communities and address enduring inequalities. Through initiatives such as the Glasgow Riverside Innovation District and our extensive research and engagement activities, we are helping to create opportunities that benefit people locally while contributing solutions to global challenges.
But our ambitions extend beyond our city and beyond our borders. The challenges that define our age, from climate change and health inequalities to conflict, food security and technological transformation, require international cooperation and interdisciplinary thinking. The University of Glasgow is proud to be a globally connected institution, working with partners across the world to advance knowledge and deliver meaningful impact.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals provide an important framework for this work. They reflect many of the values that define our University and provide a shared focus for how we use our research, education, innovation and engagement to contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and prosperous future. They remind us that progress depends on collaboration, and that lasting change can only be achieved when institutions, communities and individuals work together.
We are grateful to each and every member of our community who has played their part so far. As we look ahead, we will continue to build new global partnerships, strengthen existing collaborations and use our position as an international research intensive university to create impact that reaches far beyond our campus.
Together, we have both the opportunity and the responsibility to help shape a better future. This report demonstrates the many ways in which our University community is already doing so, and the further progress we aspire to make in the years ahead.
Professor Andy Schofield
Principal and Vice-Chancellor, University of Glasgow
Purpose
Published in the University’s 575th anniversary year, our 2026 report marks the sixth edition of this annual publication.
The University of Glasgow has been changing the world since 1451, tackling the world’s great challenges through creativity, innovation and partnership.
We have nurtured Nobel laureates and prime ministers, inventors and renowned thinkers, award-winning writers and human rights activists.
Adam Smith laid the foundations of modern economics. James Watt powered up the industrial revolution. John Macintyre opened the first hospital x-ray department. Jocelyn Bell Burnell discovered radio pulsars and Ian Donald showed us the first ultrasound.
Across the course of the year, the University has celebrated the world-changing contributions of its staff and students across the previous six centuries, and highlighted our current world changers, as they strive to make their own positive impacts on the world.
We are committed to tackling the most pressing global challenges facing humanity and the natural world, delivering against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
In this year's report we continue to look at four areas of activity:
- Research
- Learning and teaching
- University operations
- Civic engagement
We are immensely proud of the dedication and innovation shown by every part of our community in supporting the aim of the goals. From ensuring our wider local community directly benefits from Glasgow’s role as a civic anchor institution with global connections, to championing education as an engine for social progress, the work outlined in this report provides a snap-shot of some of the things we do as a University; but the range and breadth of our impact and research activities is much broader.
This report, and our accompanying web pages, exemplifies our commitment to not only being one of the best universities in the world, but the best University for the world.
The report was compiled and produced as a shared endeavour by Planning, Insight & Analytics and External Relations. We want to extend our thanks both to colleagues in these directorates for their help and guidance in producing the report, and to colleagues across the University for their valued input and their continued focus on the UN's SDGs.
Looking ahead
This report is the sixth comprehensive annual publication by the University of Glasgow assessing and celebrating our contribution to the delivery of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Since our inaugural report in 2021, the SDGs have become an increasingly important part of how we capture the impact of our activities at a local, regional, national and global level and of how we assess new ways of contributing to the goals. We were delighted to see our institutional commitment to the SDGs reflected in our strong performance in several global sustainability rankings and aim to use this report to highlight the wide-ranging and impactful work of our colleagues.
As we mark 575 years of the University of Glasgow, we build on a long history of world-changing research and innovation, outstanding teaching and partnerships, and a strong commitment from our staff and students to creating positive impact in the world. The SDGs align closely with the ambitions of Strategy 2036, providing a framework through which we can strengthen our contribution to sustainability, inclusion, innovation and partnership. Our approach to sustainability runs through our academic, operational and civic activity. Our quadruple helix approach, bringing together academia, industry, public bodies and our communities is a true partnership towards all our collective goals and we continue to work with these partners for the city of Glasgow and globally, to make a tangible contribution to tackling society’s grand challenges.
Uzma Khan
Vice-Principal for Innovation & Economic Development and Chief Operating Officer