UMPSA is 5th best in the world for SDG #1 No Poverty

PEKAN, 1 July 2024 - Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA) is ranked 201-300 in the world’s best and fifth in the world’s best in Sustainable Development Goal 1: No Poverty on the university’s efforts to reach out to the local community and help to ease the burden on the families of students in need.

The SDG rating saw Universitas Airlangga (Indonesia) ranked first, followed by York University (Canada), University of Johannesburg (South Africa), University of Indonesia, Abdullah Gul University (Turkiye) and UMPSA.

Other universities listed were Western University (Canada), University of Pretoria (South Africa), Technologico de Monterrey (Mexico), King Faisal University (Saudi Arabia), Lakehead University (Canada) and Universiti Malaya (Malaysia).

This success proves that UMPSA is leading the way in strengthening efforts to eradicate every form of hardcore poverty in accordance with the criteria outlined in the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings 2024, which is one of the main global benchmarks in assessing the contribution of higher education institutions to UNSDG in terms of sustainability.

In addition to SDG1, UMPSA is listed in SDG4: Quality of Education (65), SDG6: Clean Water and Sanitation (37), SDG7: Affordable and Clean Energy (49), SDG12: Responsible Consumption and Production (89) and SDG17: Partnerships for the Goals (89).

According to the UMPSA Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dato’ Ts. Dr. Yuserrie Zainuddin, as the best university in the Malaysian Technical Universities Network (MTUN), UMPSA is always committed to making efforts that contribute to the needs of the 17 SDGs in line with the UMPSA 2021-2025 Strategic Plan agenda with the theme ‘Technology for Society’.

“The university and Yayasan UMPSA are concerned about efforts to address the needy and assure that the fate of underprivileged students will continue to be the university’s priority.

“UMPSA will always make a full commitment to ensure that every student, especially those who are financially disadvantaged, receives equal and quality educational opportunities.

“UMPSA will also continue to strive to diversify its awareness of the importance of education, and the university also provides financial assistance, academic support and various initiatives to ensure that they can pursue their dreams without any obstacles, starting from the recruitment of students to initiatives that can benefit their families and the local community,” he said.

Meanwhile, to support this effort, UMPSA has provided Early Education Assistance and Excellence Incentive of RM200,000 allocated under Yayasan UMPSA to assist new UMPSA students with the intake of diploma and bachelor’s degree programmes this year.

This includes Early Education Assistance and Excellence Incentives that will be given to students who choose UMPSA as their first choice university.

This donation is specifically for students from underprivileged families and outstanding students who meet the set criteria.

UMPSA hopes that this allocation can ease the financial burden of students and encourage more excellent students to choose UMPSA as their higher education destination.

In addition, a total of RM1.8 million was approved by Yayasan UMPSA for student welfare assistance for this year, including Student Zakat, Excellence and Education Incentive Assistance, Campus Pantry and Student Kitchen Assistance, as well as UMPSA Scholarship Sponsorship.

This includes the preparation of Ready to Eat food packages using retort technology under the food@campus (UMPSA Campus Pantry) initiative in collaboration with various corporate parties and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

THE Impact Rankings is a global ranking system that evaluates universities around the world on the performance of commitments to the 17 SDGs set by the United Nations (UN).

By: Mimi Rabita Abd Wahit, Centre for Corporate Communications

Translation by: Dr.  Rozaimi  Abu  Samah, Faculty   of Chemical and Process Engineering Technology