North-east universities including Teesside helps contribute £2.6bn to UK economy

Study by lobby group, Universities UK, reveals the true impact of higher education on the economy across the nine regions of England

North-east universities, including Teesside, have generated more than £2.6bn for the UK economy, according to new figures published today.

A study by lobby group, Universities UK, reveals the true impact of higher education on the economy across the nine regions of England.

Teesside, which has 22,000 students and employs 2,000 staff, has developed a strong track record of graduate entrepreneurship and has helped facilitate a start-up economy and digital super-cluster.

Over the past decade, 430 new businesses have been created through its pioneering graduate enterprise and DigitalCity initiatives.

This year, it also received a royal accolade, the Queen’s Anniversary Prize, for excellence in higher education and its contribution to enterprise and working with business to grow the region’s economic future.

Its Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) scheme is generating hundreds of thousands in increased profits each year for the businesses it partners.

Teesside’s Searchcamp is the first business accelerator in the country to be run in conjunction with a university and DigitalCity has helped 250 graduates establish 216 companies.

The university has also invested more than £200m in its main Middlesbrough campus and a landmark building at Central Park in Darlington. Work begins this month on a £20m development at the heart of the Middlesbrough campus.

The report found that during 2011-12, the five North-east universities - including Teesside and Durham - generated international revenue of £244m which, together with the estimated off-campus expenditure of international students (£213m), reached £457m.

They provided 14,661 full-time equivalent jobs, and generated 32,246 jobs due to the expenditure of their international and UK students. Teesside University’s vice-chancellor, professor Graham Henderson said: “[The study] demonstrates just how much added value Teesside University contributes to the economy, how our students and staff contribute with higher level skills and how academic expertise coupled with responsive business facing services can have a huge impact on the region.”