University supporting nearly 7,000 city jobs

Anew report has revealed how Dundee University helps support more than 6,700 jobs in the city.

The university, which has around 13,000 students, was assessed for its local, national and international economic impact.

Bosses say the Biggar Economic report reveals the “enormous” contribution the institution makes.

It found that in the year 2021-22, the university supported:

● £449 million gross value added (GVA) and 6,760 jobs in Dundee;

● £507m GVA and 7,270 jobs in the Tay Cities Region;

● £975m GVA and 9,410 jobs in Scotland;

● £1.5 billion GVA and 15,090 jobs in the UK;

● £1.6bn GVA and 16,070 jobs globally.

It also found university graduates added £10 to the economy for every £1 of funding provided by the Scottish Government.

Principal and vicechancellor Professor Iain Gillespie said: “This report captures the enormous contribution Dundee University makes in helping drive our economy locally and nationally.

“We are a major employer and a vital driver of business and innovation, central to Dundee and Scotland’s ambitions.

“We attract students and staff from over 140 countries to the city.

“The economic impact of that on the local economy is huge, with hundreds of millions of pounds of direct spend here in Dundee.

“Our activities also help to attract significant inward investment to Dundee and Scotland, and create new companies through spin-out and commercialisation of our research.

“Our return on public investment is significant, as it is for our fellow universities and underlines the need for continued, sustainable support for the higher education sector in Scotland and the UK.”

The report states that expertise at the university has attracted pharmaceutical and other life science companies to the area, which generated an estimated £20m GVA into the Dundee economy.

The report suggests Dundee University’s impact has grown in recent years, after a 2016 Fraser of Allander Institute study showed it contributed £740m to the Scottish economy and that 4,000 jobs in Tayside and Fife were supported by the university.

Director of Universities Scotland Alastair Sim said: “Dundee University is a crucial anchor institution for the City of Discovery and a catalyst for Dundee, the wider region and beyond.

“The economic impact of this vital institution is telling – a world-leading university that creates growth and inclusion for its region and nation.”

Alison Henderson, CEO of Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce, said: “The education sector is a hugely important one for our region and I’m not at all surprised that Dundee University is demonstrating such a huge impact.

“The economic impact in terms of spend, working with local companies in the supply chain and attracting talent to the area cannot be underestimated.”

Higher and Further Education Minister Jamie Hepburn added: “The Scottish Government values the contribution of Dundee University as a key player in our higher education sector.

“We know this is fundamental to Scotland’s social, economic and environmental wellbeing, as well as our national strategy for economic transformation objectives.

“The university is renowned for its outstanding teaching and research excellence.

“We will provide the necessary support to ensure it continues to enable the future prospects of our young people and respond to the demand for skills in the city, region and Scotland as a whole.”

For weeks a picket line has been sustained outside Dundee University. Concerns over a pensions deal and pay have motivated staff to stand outside come rain or shine to push their cause for better terms and conditions.

It is hard to feel anything but sympathy for their plight, especially when reading a new economic report which details the university’s impact on this area.

The report is full of big numbers – a total of 6,760 jobs supported in Dundee alone and a gross value added of £449 million being just two of them.

“It needs everyone on board and sailing in the same direction

That may sound like rude economic health, but not everything in the garden is rosy.

Dundee has still to crack the nut of keeping hold of the talent it fosters through its higher education institutions and retaining a greater proportion of the wealth created.

Building those revenue streams would help keep the university – and hopefully by turn those whose livelihoods depend on it – in a more healthy place than they are today.

It would also help sustain a wider city economy which is suffering right now and crying out for all the help it can get.

One telling statistic is that of the £765m of investment raised by spinout companies in 2020 only £20m was retained in the city.

In a time where short-term priorities are hogging the limelight, it can be hard to lift up the eyes and look at long-term strategies.

The university is right therefore to be thinking in those terms and putting in place a strategy that can deliver for the city for years to come.

But it also needs to address the here and now and find a resolution to the industrial unrest that is currently dogging its every move and public pronouncement.

To deliver top-class education results, produce incredible research and build out a strong local business base, it needs everyone on board and sailing in the same direction.