THE Award win recognises Surrey’s twin strengths in health and employability

The THE DataPoints Merit Award recognises Surrey’s particular success in a combination of two key Sustainable Development Goals: ‘good health and wellbeing’ (SDG 3) and ‘decent work and economic growth’ (SDG 8).

The award was based on data from the 2018-19 academic year, and the awarding committee actively highlighted the particular relevance of Surrey’s strengths to meeting the challenges posed by the current pandemic.

It acknowledged the important role universities play in responding to Covid-19 in local communities and in local economic recovery, and positioned Surrey as the institution best-placed to meet two key challenges: namely, securing public health, and sustaining the economy, with a focus on measures of Surrey’s strength on employability and careers.

Non-academic THE Impact data was used to assess which Universities were best placed to respond to these challenges. Key metrics include performance on outreach collaborations in public health, the training of the health workforce, employment security and the general provision of work placements.

Professor Deborah Dunn-Walters, Professor of Immunology, said:

“We are incredibly proud of our colleagues across the University who have contributed to the SDG3 and SDG8 rankings leading to this award.  I am very pleased that the awards committee recognised the contemporary relevance of Surrey’s strengths. This has indeed enabled the University to provide a huge amount of support for our local healthcare, local communities and national and international research priorities during the current Covid-19 crisis and I would like to acknowledge and thank all staff for their immense efforts this year.”

Frances Gow, Head of Employability and Careers, said:

“It’s wonderful to see the hard work of our colleagues, and its relevance to students, recognised with this award. We know our focus on developing employability skills, through the provision of work placements, have a direct impact on our high graduate outcomes – and in turn, the contribution our graduates make to the economy. The message that this has made our community resilient, and able to bounce back strongly from the effects of the pandemic, is also an incredibly positive one.”

Tom Parrott, Head of Energy and Sustainability, said:

“The SDGs represent a blueprint for the sustainable future that we need. The THE Impact Rankings are therefore of ever-increasing importance in gauging our progress. Surrey is continuing its work to embed the goals in its operations whilst highlighting the excellent strategies and initiatives that are already underway. This award is testament to this progress.”