UK universities are a national asset and a critical part of our infrastructure, essential for our global competitiveness, economic growth and ensuring inclusive growth.
Underfunding will restrict the ability of universities to drive inclusive economic growth and underpin the UK’s global competitiveness. On the flip side, sustained funding that ensures the quality of the student journey, maintains the opportunity for future students to access learning compared with those over the last decade, and enhances the UK’s ability to deliver world-leading research and innovation will rapidly escalate the positive contributions of universities and their impact.
What benefits do universities bring?
575
k
between 2023 - 2028 universities will train 210,000 nurses, 107,000 doctors and dentists and 195,000 teachers (575 k public service workers)
78
%
of graduates who were first in their family to go to university report that it led to a higher starting salary than students not first in their family to attend
£
42
bn
International students boost the economy by £42 billion
1. Global competitiveness
Universities are crucial to sustain the UK’s global strategic advantage, through our world-leading research and innovation, and world-class education.
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Universities are crucial to sustain the UK’s global strategic advantage, through our world-leading research and innovation, and world-class education.
- Eighty four percent of UK university research activity submitted to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) is classed as world-leading or internationally excellent.
- The UK has the third largest share of the world’s academic publications (6.3%) behind only China and the United States, with an even larger share of the world’s most highly-cited publications (13.4%). This comes from just 4% of the world’s researchers, in a country of less than 1% of the global population.
- The UK’s research base covers the full range of disciplines and has a very high level of international collaboration with more than 60% of publications co-authored with at least one non-UK researcher (SciVal, 2023). Research conducted by universities has improved everyday life in many ways, and future research breakthroughs will be essential to address the climate emergency, capitalise on artificial intelligence developments and to discover new ways to save lives.
- The UK’s world-class education broadens the UK’s soft power and strengthens global relationships, while also generating £25.6 billion of export earnings.
- International students boost the economy by up to £42 billion over the period of their studies.
2. Economic growth
Our universities contribute £116 billion to the UK’s economy through their role as employers and purchasers of goods and services. When the spending of international students is taken into account, their total impact on the UK economy is £130 billion.
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- Through their direct employment of staff and purchasing of goods and services throughout the economy, universities support 768,000 jobs across the UK. This economic impact is in addition to the contribution universities make to economic growth from educating the future workforce to technological change from life-changing research.
- Through increasing the number of people holding higher level qualifications, universities raise living standards over time. The increased share of graduate and postgraduate qualifications in the workforce has been a key factor in driving productivity growth. Evidence suggests that there will be 11 million more skilled jobs than graduates to fill them, and the fastest growing sectors in the next decades will be technology, health, education, digital and creative skills.
- Universities also educate public sector workers, with a predicted 210,000 nurses, 107,000 doctors and dentists and 195,000 teachers to graduate over the next five years. (UUK analysis of HESA HE-BCI survey data)
- Universities drive the growth of businesses through the supply of talent and give businesses a competitive edge through research insights. Every £1 invested to help businesses and academic partners collaborate on research and development reaps a benefit of £7 to £8 of net Gross Value Added (GVA).
- Around one-third of companies have R&D activities linked to university interactions, and universities have helped businesses and other partners nearly 600,000 times over the past five years.
- Universities turn research breakthroughs into new businesses: in 2021–22 there were 21,000 active spin-outs, start-ups and social enterprises that came from UK universities. In the same period, businesses born at universities employed nearly 100,000 people and attracted over £6.4 billion in investment (UUK analysis of HESA HE-BCI Record, 2021−22).
3. Inclusive growth
Everyone across the UK should be able to benefit from rises in living standards as a result of economic growth. This requires addressing geographical disparities, and ensuring all individuals should have the opportunity to share equally in the UK’s success. Universities play a critical role in addressing economic deprivation.
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- Providing high level skills and driving growth across regions and local communities. The link between a region’s living standards and share of workers with tertiary education is becoming stronger.
- Transforming lives. 78% of graduates and 71% of business leaders who were the first in their family to go report that university opened doors, and likely led to a higher starting salary than students not first in their family to attend.
- Helping small enterprises, local businesses and not-for profits to succeed. Universities provide them with specialist advice and access to facilities to develop innovative products across the length and breadth of the UK
- Delivering and attracting funding for local regeneration projects, including an estimated value of £2 billion in local places across the UK over the next five years (UUK analysis of HESA HE-BCI survey data).
