As a graduate of RCSI and leader of this university, I am immensely proud that RCSI has ranked number one in the world in the 2020 Times Higher Impact Ranking for Good Health and Wellbeing (United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3).

This ranking is a fitting recognition of the ongoing work of our staff and students to improve health and wellbeing in communities around the globe, and, as our staff and students face the challenges of working and training in support of the health service during the COVID-19 pandemic, this acknowledgement is particularly meaningful for the RCSI community.

Across higher education, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call on us to leverage our unique position in society to have a positive impact on our local, national and international communities. At RCSI, we are committed to working towards the internationally recognised SDGs and the THE University Impact Rankings enable us to begin to measure, reflect and respond to these challenges across our institution.

Since 1784, RCSI has a singular focus on improving human health, through world-class education, training and research, for the benefit of patients and communities worldwide.

We take seriously our duty to use our expertise, knowledge and discoveries to inform and influence healthcare providers and policymakers and to foster improvements in health across the world.

Our mission to educate, nurture and discover for the benefit of human health is built on an institution-wide imperative to make a positive difference to people’s lives. We are dedicated to supporting and promoting improved lifelong health and well-being.

The United Nation’s SDG 3 “Good Health and Well-being” is aligned fully to our core mission as an internationally-focused health sciences university. Our staff and researchers are actively working to make a difference around the world through projects such as Surg-Africa (scaling up safe surgery for district and rural populations in Africa), our collaboration with the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa, and Waterspoutt (a project to provide safe drinking water to communities who rely on unsafe sources). Our research strategy focuses on translational research and scientific discovery to answer some of the greatest challenges of modern healthcare, such as reducing the number of deaths from sepsis and improving the surgical outcomes for cancer patients.

During this unprecedented time of global pandemic, our mission has never been more relevant. With the patient at the centre of everything we do, we will continue to educate the next generation of healthcare leaders and we will drive research to contribute to the global response to the virus. We will bring expert-driven information to the public and we stand ready to serve Ireland’s national effort in every way we can.

I hope you, your families and colleagues remain safe and well during these difficult times.

Best wishes,

Prof Cathal Kelly, RCSI CEO