Boost for business through British HE

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26 juli 2012 | Last year, universities contributed £3.3 billion (€ 4.2 billion) to the British economy in business services, a recent analysis indicates. Universities and Science Minister, David Willets, emphasizes the role of HE in fostering knowledge exchange and a “more entrepreneurial society”.

The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) estimates that last year universitiescontributed £3.3 billion (€ 4.2 billion) to the British economythrough “commercialisation of new knowledge, delivery ofprofessional training, consultancy and services”. This representsan increase by 7% over 2009-2010.

In its most recent report, HEFCE argues that universities havesignificantly boosted knowledge exchange in the UK. David Willets,Universities and Science Minister, comments on these findings andemphasizes the “important role [of higher education] in creating amore entrepreneurial society”.

Press statement

Universities in the UK contributed £3.3 billion to the economyin 2010-11 through services to business, includingcommercialisation of new knowledge, delivery of professionaltraining, consultancy and services.

These comprise part of a much wider economic impact.

Analysis by HEFCE of the eleventh annual Higher Education -Business and Community Interaction survey shows that the totalvalue of the services which UK universities provide to the economyand society increased by 7 per cent in 2010-11, from £3.1 billionin 2009-10 to £3.3 billion.

Despite wider economic uncertainty, spending on universityservices by large business increased by 7 per cent, from £587million in 2009-10 to £629 million in 2010-11. Universities arestimulating economic growth and contributing to public services andsociety.

The report, published today, finds encouraging signs of therising value of UK knowledge exchange . This is illustrated byincreases in income to universities from facilities and equipment -such as wind tunnels or digital media suites – where income grew by12 per cent over the previous year, to £129 million in 2010-11.

1,262 spin-off companies

• In 2010-11 268 new businesses were set up based on theworld-class research carried out by UK universities, bringing thetotal number of active spin-off companies to 1,262. These companiesemployed around 18,000 people and turned over nearly £2.1 billionduring the year.
• UK universities formed one new company per £24 million ofresearch funding during 2010-11. This far exceeds the record of USuniversities (one new company per £56 million).
• Graduates established over 2,800 new enterprises to capitaliseon the knowledge and experience gained while studying. Universitiessupport these enterprises by embedding enterprise in degreecourses, and also by providing advice and facilities for graduatesto set up and grow their businesses, and by putting them in touchwith investors looking for opportunities.
• The direct application of knowledge to solving problems in thepublic and private sectors also grew, with collaborative researchincreasing by 16 per cent and contact research by 7 per cent.

David Willetts Minister for Universities and Sciencesaid:

“Universities and industry working together are making asubstantial contribution to the UK’s economic growth. The latestanalysis shows that external income to the higher education sectorfrom business and other users has continued to increase, despitethe challenging economic environment, to over £3.3 billion.”

“Today’s increase in the number of new start-up companies bystaff and recent graduates of higher education institutions alsohighlights the important role that universities have in creating amore entrepreneurial society.”