Universities are ‘fuelling UK economic growth,’ new report finds

The report, The Economic Role of UK Universities , highlights how universities increase skills, support innovation and attract investment and talent.
 
The publication, which is the sixth in the Funding Environment series, emphasises how higher education is a high-growth UK export industry in its own right.

In 2011-12, universities generated over £73 billion of output and contributed over £39.9 billion to UK.

If also found that universities are key to the UK’s global competitiveness, vital in filling skills gaps and contribute significantly to regional growth.    
 
Dame Julia Goodfellow, Chair of UUK's submission to the 2015 spending review and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kent, said:

“Universities are a fundamental part of the UK economy and play a key role in ensuring that the UK remains globally competitive.
 
“The UK must ensure that the higher-level skills required in the labour market are met and our universities have an important role to play in meeting this demand, both through their more traditional model of three-year undergraduate university study, and by developing other routes  to higher skills.
 
“Universities are a globally recognised source of innovation and research and, in turn, attract direct foreign investment. They generate knowledge and discovery that can boost both the private and the public sectors.”