UK Government should leverage the power of universities to deliver its missions
Launch of Skills, Research and Higher Education: A Vision for the New Government report sets out role Higher Education can play to support economic growth plans
The new UK Government should ensure that it maximises the potential of the higher education sector to support its economic growth plans and deliver its missions, according to the University of Birmingham.
A new report – ‘Skills, Research and Higher Education: A Vision for the New Government’ – sets out the role higher education plays in relation to skills, productivity, applied research, and breaking down barriers to opportunity, and calls on the government to leverage the power of universities. Policy recommendations include strategies to capitalise on research and innovation to help policymakers tackle some of the major challenges the world is facing.
Universities are an essential component in delivering sustainable and equitable growth.
Professor Adam Tickell, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham said: “In seeking to address complex issues and deliver its missions, the government has a powerful national asset – UK universities. Through collaboration with policymakers, we can tackle tough challenges and make a real difference to the lives of people across the UK and beyond.
“Universities are an essential component in delivering sustainable and equitable growth. From attracting and retaining human capital, to driving innovation and entrepreneurship, universities are engines of economic development, contributing significantly to local and national economies.”
The University of Birmingham’s total economic impact has been calculated by London Economics at £4.4 billion. Based on data from the 2021-22 academic year, the University supports nearly 20,000 FTE jobs in the UK. More than 13,000 of those are in the West Midlands, with 1 in 50 jobs in Birmingham being directly provided by the University.
The University also supported its students and graduates to start more than 60 new businesses during the report’s timeframe and trained more than 5,300 teachers, social workers, nurses, doctors and dentists.
Policy asks
Policy asks in the report include:
- Safeguard routes for international students to engage with UK universities
- Commit to working hand in hand with the UK’s Higher Education sector to both safeguard and enhance our universities as a national asset
- Ensure that the knowledge and resources of universities are included in local growth plans
The report also offers policy recommendations in relation to research challenge themes which align with mission-driven government. These include:
- Support for the progression of life-changing technologies to market with investment to scale and grow start-up companies through technology readiness levels, creating a well-developed ecosystem for deep tech organisations in the UK and long-term returns for the economy
- Enhanced support and initiatives to accelerate a national strategy for materials innovation, aligning government, industry, and academia, on the synergies and opportunities to ensure the UK maintains a world-leading position in rapidly expanding materials markets
- Establishing new, diverse, forests, and the sustainable management of existing forests. Introduce highly-skilled ‘forest GPs’ as the intellectual and policy equals of medical and veterinary practitioners for a healthy and sustainable UK
- Enable the untapped potential for innovation in healthcare technology and life sciences research by improving incentives for starting and scaling up businesses, extending innovation accelerators, and implementing the recommendations of the O'Shaughnessy report for commercial clinical trials
- Ensure that the healthcare system exploits the benefits of artificial intelligence for every UK citizen through the creation of a Centre of Excellence for Regulatory Science & Innovation in Digital and AI Healthcare
- Ensure access to culture and heritage for all as a crucial component of wellbeing, representation, and inclusivity and embed SEN provision in the delivery of literary heritage that is part of the National Curriculum, such as Shakespeare
Notes for editors
Notes for editors
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For media enquiries please contact the Press Office, University of Birmingham, tel: +44 (0)121 414 2772
- The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world’s top 100 institutions. Its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers, educators and more than 40,000 students from over 150 countries.
- England’s first civic university, the University of Birmingham is proud to be rooted in of one of the most dynamic and diverse cities in the country. A member of the Russell Group and a founding member of the Universitas 21 global network of research universities, the University of Birmingham has been changing the way the world works for more than a century.
- The University of Birmingham commissioned London Economics to assess its social and economic impact, focusing on the 2021-22 academic year. To create the report, London Economics looked at the impact of five key areas within the University:
- Research and knowledge exchange activities account for approximately £1.4 billion (32%) of this impact
- The value of teaching and learning activities stands at £1.3 billion (31%)
- The impact of the University of Birmingham’s educational exports stands at £690 million (16%)
- The impact generated by the University’s operating and capital expenditure stands at £908 million (21%)
- The impact of the tourism associated with the University of Birmingham stands at £46 million (1%)