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Higher education research in facts and figures

9 February 2018

Facts and stats

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An overview of the quality of research, impact, collaboration, students, staff and finance at UK universities.

Highlights include:

76% of research at higher education institutions was considered as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ for its overall quality in 2014
UK higher education institutions received £4.2 billion from knowledge exchange activities in 2015−16
More than half of UK research is produced through international collaborations
UK government spending on research and development is below the OECD average as a proportion of GDP
43% of postgraduate research students and 29% of academic staff were from overseas
Research performed by UK universities in 2014−15 equates to an increase of £28.9 billion in gross value added

Higher education research in facts and figures data tables and sources (.xls)

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