Cambridge University's economic impact exceeds £50 billion: Library House study
The University of Cambridge will be directly and indirectly responsible for £57.5 billion of the UK's GDP and more than 150,000 jobs over the next decade, a study released today predicted.
The report, entitled "The Impact of the University of Cambridge on the UK Economy and Society", was prepared by Cambridge-based research firm, Library House. It is the first rigorous study of its kind to be conducted on a British university and has been supported by the East of England Development Agency, the Cambridge Network and the Greater Cambridge Partnership.
The report concludes that the University contributes £951m in direct expenditure to the economy each year. It employs more than 11,700 people and supports over 77,000 jobs in the region. In the absence of the University, and consequently the absence of the Cambridge Cluster of high tech firms, the cumulative impact on Britain over the next 10 years would be a Gross Domestic Product that was £57.5 billion smaller and an economy with 154,000 jobs fewer.
Library House executive director Charles Cotton (pictured) said the report "demonstrates that the University of Cambridge ranks in the top three research universities in the world. Cambridge combines this global academic standing with a significant impact on the formation and continuing development of the Cambridge Cluster which magnifies its economic impact on the East of England and the nation."
The Cambridge Cluster
The 64-page report provides further evidence of the pivotal role the University has played at the centre of Europe's leading technology cluster.
The Cambridge Colleges contributed directly to the creation of the Cambridge Cluster through the Cambridge Science Park (Trinity College) and the St John's Innovation Centre, which together house almost 200 firms.
Today the Cluster numbers close to 900 technology companies and in 2004 generated £3.4 billion in revenues, employed over 27,000 people directly and attracted 20% of the venture capital invested in the UK.
One impact resulting from the university's teaching activities is an increased entrepreneurial spirit, which has played, and still is playing, an important role in the Cambridge region.
Cambridge Consultants, founded in 1960 by a Cambridge University graduate, inspired the establishment of more than ten other contract research organisations, which have been influential in the development of the Cambridge Cluster.
This is now Europe's leading biotechnology cluster and the University has played an important role, both directly and indirectly, in its formation. 250 companies have been started based on knowledge transfer from the University and survive today. Of these 250 companies, 175 are located within the Cambridge Cluster.
To date 51 companies have spun-out directly from the University, of which 33 operate in the biotech sector and seven in the IT or telecommunications sectors.
Methodology
Library House developed the Higher Education Impact Model structure and analysis method following a world-wide review of other models. It examines the two principal activities of a university - teaching and research, looking at their direct and indirect, economic and societal impacts. The firm says this is the most comprehensive report carried out in the UK on the impact of a university and builds on tried and trusted methodologies used in previous studies on US universities.
26th June 2006
